One Part Brave, Three Parts Fool
by Sparky She-Demon
Summary: She didn't want to go along and Thorin didn't want her around. But due to the meddling of a wizard, an elf lord, and two stubborn swords, Ashara - granddaughter of Elrond - is on the Quest for Erebor.
1. An Honest Mistake

**Chapter I: An Honest Mistake**

 **A/N: Yet another plot bunny run amok. LOTR/The Hobbit was my first fandom as a child, so a part of me is glad to finally join the fandom as a writer. Another part of me thinks I have enough stories running about. Translations for the elvish will be found at the end of the chapter. The elvish will also be bolded. I used Parf Edhellen for my elvish for the most part save once. Thanks go to Blondiezhere for her help, especially with the elvish! Anyone else who has helped, thank you as well! SSD**

 **Any recognizable characters and recognized dialogue belong to Professor Tolkien and/or Peter Jackson.**

* * *

In the middle of going through his trunk, Bilbo came across a drawing he had not seen for years. It was of the entire Company, and he smiled at the memories that had been made with that group.

Letters from Erebor were few and far between, but they were treasured.

Bilbo looked at the members who were leaning against walls in the back. The drawing had been done a bit over a month after the Battle of the Five Armies and several members of the Company had been severely injured. Ashara and Thorin had only really been on their feet under their own power for a few days before Ori had talked them all into sitting for the drawing.

He couldn't help but chuckle at the memories of the near constant bickering in the beginning with those two. Ashara had not wanted to come along on the quest, and Thorin had not wanted her along either. The she-elf and the dwarf had provided much in the way of entertainment during the trek out from Rivendell.

Bilbo became aware of Frodo entering the room. His nephew came forward and took a look at the drawing and asked, "What's an elf doing with all those dwarves? You told me that they don't usually get along."

He could not help but smirk before answering, "They usually don't. But there are exceptions to every rule."

"And was the elf and one of the dwarves in the picture the exception to the rule, uncle? How did it start?"

"Bear in mind, those two made each other's life as difficult as possible in the beginning. But it started with Gandalf finding a sword in the troll cave..."

* * *

60 years earlier...

After picking themselves up form nearly getting eaten by three trolls, the Company had quickly found the cave where the trolls had been keeping their loot.

"Oh what's that stench," Bofur asked as he started coughing.

"It's a troll horde. Be careful what you touch," Gandalf called back. He too was barely breathing so as to not deal with the stench.

As some of the other dwarves began to dig a hole to hide some of the treasure, the wizard noticed that Thorin had found some swords.

"These swords were not made by any troll," the dwarf king remarked as he handed one of them to Gandalf.

"Nor were they made by any smith among men," he replied as he took a closer look at the blade before saying, "These were forged in Gondolin, by the High Elves of the First Age."

Thorin had been about to draw the sword, but at the mention of elves, began to set the sword back on the rack he'd found it on with a glower.

Rolling his eyes a bit, Gandalf snapped, "You could not ask for a finer blade!"

Deciding that irking the wizard further was not a good idea, Thorin drew the blade with ease. As he eyed it, his reluctance over using it seemed to fade.

When the dwarves began to leave the cave, Gandalf noticed two more blades of Elvish make.

One was more a dagger for an ordinary sized person, which would serve well for Bilbo as a sword.

The other one he wasn't sure about, but Gandalf had a feeling that bringing it along would turn out to be a good idea.

* * *

After giving Bilbo his new weapon, it wasn't long before it was noticed that Gandalf had another elven sword besides the one on his hip.

"Where'd you find that one, Gandalf," Kili asked.

"Near where Bilbo's new sword was found," Gandalf replied.

The young dwarf prince asked, "Who's it for?"

"I am not quite sure just yet. In time it will likely become clear," the wizard said as he sat down on a rock for a moment.

"How can you not know," Fili asked, joining the conversation.

"This sword chooses who will wield it, I believe. Even I do not know who that will be," Gandalf said as he set the sword down next to him.

Armed with this new knowledge, the two brothers began to argue over which of them would be more likely the sword's choice. As they continued to argue, Dwalin came up and tried drawing the sword.

As Gandalf suspected, the sword would not budge, no matter what Dwalin did.

With several curses in Khuzdul, Dwalin threw the sword on the ground.

It seemed that Kili had won the argument as to which of them would try to draw the sword. And like Dwalin before him, he could not get the sword to move an inch.

"What good is a sword that can't be drawn," Kili complained as his brother took a whack at drawing it to no avail.

Before Gandalf could answer, Radagast blew in on his sled crying out, "Thieves, Fire, Murder!"

Things went to hell a short time later, with the arrival of the warg scout.

"I'll draw them off," Radagast said, determination clear in his voice.

"These are Gundabad wargs, they will outrun you," Gandalf objected.

" _These_ are Rhosgobel rabbits. I'd like to see them try!"

* * *

For the moment it was an ordinary patrol hunting an orc pack.

That changed a few moments later when they heard the snarls and howls of a warg pack.

" **Nuuta.** What are they hunting," an elf growled.

Ashara could not help but share the sentiment.

"I think it is not so much what they are hunting but *who* they are hunting, and whoever they are will likely need our assistance. Ready your weapons," her grandfather ordered.

* * *

 _All this way to get run down by an orc pack,_ Thorin growled to himself.

Kili was making short work of the pack with his archery skills, but there were simply too many of them.

A horn blared out over the plain.

 _That was no orc horn. Damn elves!_

Thorin looked for Gandalf in order to skewer him with a dirty look as he cut down a warg that got to close. But the wizard was suspiciously missing.

Just when things were about to get even worse, Gandalf's voice shouted out, "This way you fools!"

Everyone began sliding into the cave opening. As Thorin himself slid into the cave, and arrow grazed his shoulder.

"Thorin, are you alright," Balin asked.

"I am fine," he replied before picking up the arrow to look at it more closely. His suspicions were confirmed and growled "Elves." Thorin was far from surprised that Gandalf had managed to get his way somehow.

Taking a closer look at the arrow in his hands, Thorin noticed that there was a crimson band near the fletching. Which would likely identify the archer who had shot at him.

"I cannot see where the pathway leads. Do we follow it or not," Dwalin asked.

"We follow it of course," Bofur said as he rushed past Dwalin.

* * *

As Thorin had suspected, the thrice-blasted wizard had led them straight to Rivendell!

"This was your plan all along. To seek refuge with our enemy," he growled.

"You have no enemies here Thorin Oakenshield. The only ill-will found in this valley is that which you bring yourself," Gandalf shot back.

"And you think the elves will give our quest their blessing? They will try to stop us," Thorin countered.

"Of course they will. But we have questions that need to be answered," the wizard reasoned.

Thorin could not argue with the wizard, who had him on that point. The map needed translating.

Gandalf continued on with, "If we are to be successful, this will need to be handled with tact, and respect, and no small degree of charm. Which is why you will leave the talking to me!"

* * *

Thorin could tell that the elf who came to greet them was likely not much of a soldier.

After an exchange in the elven tongue, Gandalf said, "I must speak with Lord Elrond."

"My lord Elrond is not hear," the elf replied.

No sooner had Gandalf asked, "Not here? Where is he," the sound of elf horns blared.

"Ifridi bekar! Hold ranks," Thorin ordered.

* * *

Ashara was far from surprised at the behavior of the dwarves. She doubted that nothing short of trickery on Gandalf's part would have gotten them into the Valley.

Mithrandir greeted her grandfather with " **Mellon nin! Mo evindeh?"**

" **Faranem 'lamhoth i udul o charad. Dagannem rim na lent vedui,"** her grandfather said as he dismounted from his horse before continuing in Westron, "Strange for orcs to come so close to our borders. Something or someone must have drawn them near." She could tell that the wizard's reaction was being gauged.

"Ah, that might have been us," the wizard replied sounding somewhat sheepish.

Ashara eyed the that came up to the front.

 _Tall for a dwarf,_ she observed.

"Welcome Thorin, son of Thrain," her grandfather greeted.

"I do not believe we have met," was the curt reply.

"You have your grandfather's bearing. I know Thror when he ruled under the Mountain."

"Indeed? He made no mention of you." The dwarf's contempt for elves clear.

She grinned as her grandfather made the offer for food in Sindarin when he just as easily could have used the common tongue. Their reaction was predictable.

"What is he saying? Does he offer us insult," a red bearded dwarf barked.

Exasperation clear in his voice, Gandalf snapped, "No Master Gloin he is offering you food!"

After discussing the subject for a moment, the same dwarf said, "Well in that case, lead on."

Ashara dismounted from her horse and began to lead him to the stables.

What she really wanted right now was a long, hot bath!

* * *

Thorin glanced around taking in his surroundings again. Early in it, he noticed the elf leading a black horse to what was likely the stables.

What kept his attention on this particular elf was the fact that they had a quiver of arrows with a red band near the fletching.

"I believe this arrow belongs to you," Thorin called after the elf as Kili shot it towards the elf.

Turning with preternatural speed, the elf caught it with ease.

The golden eyed elf looked at the arrow, put it back in the quiver and said with a completely straight face: "My apologies Master Dwarf. I thought you were an orc."

With that, the impertinent she-elf (she'd removed her helmet before replying) gave a slight bow and left the stables.

Thorin heard Kili cough a few times before leaving his presence. As soon as Kili thought it was safe to do so (his nephew was sorely mistaken) he began to snicker at what the she-elf had said.

* * *

Dinner seemed to be going as smooth as could with thirteen dwarves, a hobbit, a wizard, and several elves could go. The dwarves were less than pleased at the lack of meat.

 **"Tye auve som nelto lerte roime, haru,** " Ashara drawled.

 **"Ta i atta o met auve u vela sina mule tyel,"** her grandfather replied with a small grin.

Gandalf chuckled at the exchange. Thorin however appeared to be less than amused at the use of a language that he did not understand.

Ashara returned her attention back to the swords that had been apparently found in a troll horde: Orcrist and Glamdring. She'd read stories where they were mentioned.

Just when one of the younger dwarves muttered something about "green food" Gandalf all of the sudden said, "Oh silly me. I almost forgot. There was a third sword I found."

She got a good look at this new sword the wizard had produced. The wizard had likely left this one for last on purpose. One thing that obvious right away. It bore a remarkable similarity to Orcrist, save for maybe the hilt being a bit thinner.

"I suspect it was made in Gondolin as well. As for the name of the blade, I cannot give you that until I see the runes," her grandfather said, already looking over the sword.

"That's a funny thing then: I think this sword is one that chooses it's wielder," Gandalf said as he went back to his meal.

* * *

Elrond took ahold of the grip of the third sword and noted a slight hum from the blade.

He was close to what the sword wanted, but some testing still had to be done. He began with Thorin saying, "Let us see if this works for you."

Not too surprisingly, the dwarf king was unable to draw it, no matter how hard he tugged. What was interesting however, was the fact the sword moved slightly for him. This went unnoticed by most.

"Guess you're not that sword's chosen one," Ashara sassed. Thorin shot an acidic glare at her.

 _These two must have bumped into one another already,_ Elrond thought as he handed the sword for Lindir to try. He too was unable to draw the sword, much less move it.

"An elf did no better," Thorin sneered at Ashara before getting up from the table.

* * *

Ashara made to get up after that arrogant ass of a dwarf king.

 **"Havo dad,** **indyeldë** **,"** her grandfather said in a calm, but commanding voice.

She did not disobey him but was glaring at the dwarf king. The desire to give him a beating was strong. The feeling was likely mutual.

Before she could reply to her grandfather, one of the dwarves began to sing with the others joining in:

 _"There's an inn, there's an inn, there's a merry old inn_  
 _beneath an old grey hill,_  
 _And there they brew a beer so brown_  
 _That the Man in the Moon himself came down_  
 _one night to drink his fill._

 _The ostler has a tipsy cat_  
 _that plays a five-stringed fiddle;_  
 _And up and down he saws his bow_  
 _Now squeaking high, now purring low,_  
 _now sawing in the middle._

 _So the cat on the fiddle played hey-diddle-diddle,_  
 _a jig that would wake the dead:_  
 _He squeaked and sawed and quickened the tune,_  
 _While the landlord shook the Man in the Moon:_  
 _'It's after three!' he said."_

* * *

Ashara had to admit that it was a catchy tune. Though she could have lived without the food being thrown.

She eyed the still unknown blade on the table.

"Humor an old man and take a try at drawing the sword, my dear," Gandalf said. There was something of a gleam in his eyes.

Ashara flicked a glance at her grandfather who nodded his assent.

She was well aware of the eyes on her. Failure was unacceptable, but was highly likely.

Locking eyes with the insufferable dwarf king, Ashara queried as she picked up the sword from the table, "What's the likelihood that I'll actually draw this thing?"

To everyone's surprise, she yanked it out with no trouble whatsoever. The blade was stunning. And it's resemblance to Orcrist was apparent.

Not surprisingly at all, her grandfather recovered his voice first with, "As an answer to your question, I would say would say your chances are quite good. Now that I can see the runes, I can give you it's name: Lightbringer, partner sword to Orcrist, and it gives light in the darkest of places."

* * *

 **Translations:**

 **Nuuta: Damn (I don't think it's Tolkien elvish, but I took what I could get.)**

 **Mellon nin! Mo evindeh?: My friend, where have you been?**

 **Faranem 'lamhoth i udul o charad. Dagannem rim na lent vedui: We've been hunting a pack of orc that came up from the south. We slew a number near the hidden pass.**

 **Tye auve som nelto lerte roime, haru: You might have said that they can hunt, grandfather.**

 **Ta i atta o met auve u vela sina mule tyel: Then the two of us would have not seen this meal amusement.**

 **Havo dad** **indyeldë** **: Sit down, granddaughter.**

 **A/N 2: This first chapter came out relatively quickly (I'm writing this longhand then typing it up). I hope the second one comes together as fast. So...what do you all think?**

 **May the Fourth be with you!**


	2. The Game is Set, the Pieces are Moving

**Chapter II: The Game is Set, the Pieces are Moving**

 **A/N: I'm really happy with the reaction to the story. Translations for the elvish will be at the end of the chapter. Thanks go to Blondiezhere for her help. Here's chapter 2! SSD**

 **Recognizable characters and lines belong to Peter Jackson and/or Professor Tolkien**

 **Blondiezhere has two excellent stories: The Journey of Hearts and it's sequel A Change of Fortune. They are very good and well worth a read!**

* * *

"No. Absolutely not. It was bad enough when you talked me into bringing a Hobbit along. Now you want me to allow an *ELF* along on the Quest? You go too far, Gandalf."

Ever since dinner had ended (things had wrapped up shortly after Lightbringer was drawn), Gandalf had been arguing with Thorinas soon as they got to where the Company was staying.

"The stubbornness of dwarves never ceases to amaze me. The likelihood that the Company will have to travel through Mirkwood is all but certain. Someone who can speak the language and knows the customs would be useful," Gandalf countered.

"You can do that, can you not?" Thorin argued back.

"I can, but in the instance that I am not around, Ashara would prove most useful. She is also quite skilled with a blade, given that she's had the time to practice." Gandalf had sat down and pulled out his pipe.

"How old is she," Thorin snarked.

Gandalf narrowed his eyes at the dwarf king, "Even you know better than to ask a lady's age. Go to the main sparring area in the morning. You'll see what she can do with a blade."

As Thorin stalked off to talk with his nephews, Gandalf hoped that Elrond was having better luck than he was.

* * *

"With all due respect, grandfather, have you gone mad? It is common knowledge that **Ud Raan** hates elves!"

Elrond was rubbing his temples. Ashara had not been pleased with the suggestion about going along on the Quest.

"Are the dwarves the problem, **indyeldë**?"

"Not all of them, just one," she growled, leaning back in the chair. She didn't need to say which dwarf was the one she had a problem with.

"Did you two run into each other before dinner," Elrond asked.

"Yes. Apparently I nearly shot him during that skirmish with those warg riders as he slid into the entrance to the Hidden Pass." Ashara was looking over Lightbringer again. Elrond saw an opening to possibly reason with his granddaughter. He explained again, "Orcrist and Lightbringer, as I said earlier, are partner swords. They work best when their wielders are close to each other while being used. So it would make sense for you to go along on the Quest."

"I am not keen on going, and I'm pretty sure Oakenshield does not want me around either," Ashara argued.

"Gandalf is attempting to reason with him on the matter."

"Eru help Gandalf with that," Ashara grinned a bit.

Before Elrond could reply, Ashara noticed her father enter the library.

When he came level with the table she said, "Thank Arda you're here. You need to convince **haru** that he is mad!"

Ashara swept from the room, Lightbringer in her hands.

"What did I miss, **ada**?"

"Elladan, it is a very long story."

* * *

Ashara had been unable to rest at all that night. She had too many things on her mind as she looked over her new sword.

 _How in Arda did I come to be chosen by a blade out of legend?_

She needed to spar. And it just so happened that her favorite opponent was in Rivendell at the moment. Aedric had just come off a patrol from near the Shire. When she'd talked to him yesterday before dinner, they'd agreed to a sparring match.

"Nice seeing you again, Princess. Hope you haven't gotten soft," the dark haired ranger drawled.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Ashara grinned as she picked up the practice sword.

While they were still warming up, the ranger asked, "Were my eyes deceiving me or did I see dwarves here?"

"Your eyes are working just fine. Gandalf brought them," she replied as she ducked Aedric's swing. Warming up was over.

No more words were spoken as the speed of the blades picked up.

During a short break, Aedric murmured, "We're being watched."

"I know. He's been watching for a fair bit," Ashara replied as she took a sip of water.

 _"_ **Naugrim a lihlican** _..."_ Aedric snickered a bit. Dwarves were not known for their stealth.

" **Acca anwa** _,"_ she replied before calling out in the common tongue, "You are more than welcome to join us. No need to skulk in the shadows."

* * *

Thorin had decided to take Gandalf up on seeing what the she-elf could do with a sword.

She was sparring with a human. Given that they were in Rivendell, it was likely the man was a Dunedain Ranger.

Her fighting style relied on speed and being light on her feet. Which she had no shortage of.

She also appeared to be accustomed to her opponent, bantering easily with him.

He'd been so focused on watching the match, Thorin started at the she-elf calling out to him.

* * *

"So how did I do?"

"You should be of _some_ use. You are better with a sword then you are with a bow," Thorin replied.

"It wasn't like I was aiming for you on purpose. I was aiming for the warg," Ashara replied before saying, "I'm actually not that bad a shot."

"I wonder how you would do against an opponent you are not used to fighting against," Thorin wondered.

"Are you volunteering yourself," Ashara had a toothy grin on her face.

"Gandalf wants you along on the Quest. Who better than me to test you?" Thorin had a similarly toothy grin.

Aedric slowly backed out of the line of fire. Occasionally Ashara and her brother would get like this, just to test each other. It was best to get out of the way.

"Are you open to using live steel, or would you prefer practice weapons," Ashara asked. Aedric could tell that she wanted to use live steel.

"Live steel is fine."

What happened next was something that surprised all three present. When the two went for their new swords, neither would draw no matter how hard they tugged.

"Looks like the swords are back to being difficult. Good thing we have other weapons here," Ashara growled as she picked up her regular hand and a half sword. Thorin also drew the dwarven sword he had on him.

Aedric asked "Are you two sure its' a good idea that you're using sharp weapons?" He was ignored by both parties as they got into position.

 _I need to get to Elrond. Someone needs to needs to stop this from getting completely out of hand!_

* * *

 _This should be fun,_ Ashara thought with a smirk.

There was no warm up, as Thorin took the initiative and attacked first.

 _Faster than expected._

Like before, there was little talking as swords either hit each other or sliced through the air. Time seemed to not matter.

* * *

"I'm impressed. You're doing better than I thought," Thorin said as he blocked the she-elf's sword.

"Getting tired yet, Master dwarf? I can go all day," Ashara snarked.

The response was several hard blows that she could barely block.

"Dwarves are known for their stamina, I can go just as long as you, if not longer," her opponent snarled back.

* * *

Aedric had been running since he heard the first clang of blade on blade. The fight needed to be stopped before any serious damage was done.

Thankfully Gandalf, Elladan, and Elrond were out and about. They were quite easy to find.

"What is it that is going on Aedric," Elladan asked before continuing, "I thought you were sparring with Ashara?"

"I was, sir. Then she got distracted by another opponent."

The ranger told the others the really short version of the story.

Elladan pinched the bridge of his nose. Both Ashara and Erudan could be exasperating. And he was particularly thankful that both of them were not involved.

* * *

Bilbo was enjoying the peace and quiet of Rivendell and unlike many of the dwarves, he had taken to exploring the grounds which included the beautiful gardens.

However, he found that it was very easy to get lost.

He was startled by the sounds of swords hitting each other viciously and what were likely curses in one of the elven languages and the language of the dwarves.

Thorin it seemed was busy fighting an elf. Bilbo could not tell who the elf was, save for the fact that he or she had dark hair. The swords got louder as did the comments. He heard the word **"** **savar"** come from the elf. It was far from complimentary, that was for sure!

Just as Bilbo was about call out, he saw that the swords glow red hot as if they'd been heated from within.

The elf opened her (hopefully Bilbo was right on that) mouth about to snarl, before an older elf who was standing next to Elrond, "Don't even think about using that fell tongue, Ashara. I should have never let Gandalf teach it to you!"

"I think the two of you need to cool off," Gandalf murmured.

With one final set of dirty looks exchanged, the female elf and Thorin left the sparring area. There was a good bit of damage to it.

* * *

Ashara knew that she was get chastised for fighting with the dwarf king. And likely might get into some trouble for nearly using the Black Speech.

After bathing and cleaning her weapons, Ashara went to the library. At the moment, she wanted the peace and quiet that room would bring.

She'd been in there for quite a while when a familiar voice said, "You let your temper get the best of you **iel.** "

"I know **ada**. I don't think I have ever caused so much destruction in the training ring," Ashara commented as she put her feet up on the table.

"Feet off the table," her father commented before continuing with, "Your grandfather is going to have to repair that training ring after what you two put it through. What were you two saying while you were fighting?"

"I'm not going to repeat what I said and I don't know what that **savar** was saying in that babble that dwarves speak, but judging by his tone, it was definitely negative!" Ashara caressed the hilt of Lightbringer on her hip.

"Why weren't you two using your new swords," her father asked.

"That's a strange thing. Lightbringer and Orcrist wouldn't draw. So we had to use the other blades we brought with us. Any ideas as to why they wouldn't draw?"

"I've heard of them both, but I have never heard of them refusing to draw once they've been drawn by their chosen wielders," was the reply from her father.

"You two meant each other harm. Lightbringer and Orcrist will not fight each other in that situation," Elrond said as he entered the library.

"Them turning out to be partner swords makes them _almost_ more trouble than they are worth," Ashara growled before getting up and bobbing a small bow of respect to her father and grandfather.

Elladan was looking at his father who had a book in front of him on a table showing the two near identical swords.

He asked, "Father, is there anything that Ashara should know about those blades?"

"There is nothing she needs to know at the present time, Elladan."

* * *

The following day was far more quiet. Bilbo found himself wandering about Rivendell again.

Last night had been rather interesting with Gandalf chastising Thorin over the incident in the training ring. He hadn't been acting very kingly at that time.

"Are you lost, Master Baggins," a voice startled him out of his thoughts.

He turned around and saw the female elf from yesterday leaning against a doorway.

"A little bit," Bilbo replied sheepishly.

"I would like to apologize for yesterday. I wasn't exactly at my best. I am Ashara, daughter of Elladan," she said with a slight bow.

"How did you know I was there yesterday near the sparring ring," Bilbo asked.

"I saw you as I left, are you looking for anywhere specific?"

"No, but thank you. I was just taking things in before we eventually leave. Gandalf mentioned that you would be coming along," Bilbo said, while remembering Thorin's arguing with the wizard the day prior.

"What Mithrandir wants, he usually gets," the elf replied with an eye roll.

Bilbo noticed a chess board set up on a nearby table. He hadn't played since before leaving the Shire. Nodding towards it, he asked, "Would you like to play, Ashara?"

"I do play. I would love to play a game or two with you. Even though I am not that good. I usually lose. The chess games I play with my brother are a bit more interesting."

The two sat themselves down, Ashara having the black pieces, Bilbo with the white pieces.

When the game had been going on for some time, Bilbo said, "You're not as bad as you said you were."

"I usually play against my father and grandfather. And I get trounced every time," Ashara replied as she took a knight.

"Perhaps you have learned from those defeats," Bilbo said as he moved his castle.

* * *

Balin had been looking for Bilbo, just to make sure he wasn't lost.

He found the hobbit playing chess in the garden with the she-elf who'd been chosen (Balin had no idea how that worked) by Lightbringer. At the moment, she looked friendly.

Her skill with a sword had already been tested by Thorin who had grudgingly said she could more than handle herself in a fight.

The she-elf was coming along whether Thorin liked it or not. Balin was looking forward to seeing the potential fireworks that would go off.

* * *

Ashara was having one last walk around Rivendell. She would be leaving the Valley for a long time and did not know when she would return.

She had also left a letter for her younger brother Erudan. He was out on a patrol with a squad Dunedain rangers and would not get back for over a month.

Only the Valar knew where she'd be in a month.

 _Hopefully out of the Misty Mountains without hassle,_ she thought to herself.

"Really I think you can trust that I know what I'm doing," Gandalf was arguing with someone.

"Do you? That dragon has slept for 60 years! What will happen if your plan should fail and you awaken the beast," her grandfather countered.

"But if the dwarves retake the mountain, our defenses in the east will be strengthened!"

"It is a dangerous move, Gandalf." Ashara agreed with her grandfather.

"It is also dangerous to do nothing. Look, the Throne of Erebor is Thorin's birthright, what is it you fear?"

Ashara then saw that she was not the only person listening in on the conversation, with Bilbo and Thorin also being well within earshot.

"Have you forgotten? A strain of madness runs deep in that family. His grandfather lost his mind, his father succumbed to the same sickness. CAn you swear that Thorin Oakenshield will not also fall?"

At her grandfather's words, Ashara flicked a glance towards the dwarf king.

His face was a ghostly pale.

 _Perhaps there is something Oakenshield fears more than death. He fears losing his mind,_ Ashara thought as she found herself agreeing with the fact that losing one's mind was a fate worse than death.

A few moments later, Ashara went off to get her belongings for the quest. Unless she was very much mistaken, the other two members of the White Council had arrived.

The dwarves would likely be leaving shortly as to prevent Saruman from stopping them.

* * *

"So does anyone think that the she-elf is going to show up," Bofur asked, with a sidelong glance at Thorin.

"20 gold pieces says she won't," Dwalin muttered.

Most of the others agreed, and added their own bets to the growing pot.

"I say she does show up. 25 gold pieces," Kili added.

"Same bet for me, Bofur," Fili replied.

"I'm with Fili and Kili. What about you Bilbo? Do you think the she-elf is going to show up," Bofur asked, turning towards the hobbit.

Bilbo replied with a grin on his face, "Oh, I think Ashara will show up. I'll bet my chores that when she shows up she will also sass Thorin!"

Fili, Kili, and Bofur all sniggered at that remark.

No sooner had all that finished, a voice called out, sass clear in her tone, "Surprised to see me, your Grace?"

Bilbo turned around and saw that Ashara had indeed shown up. She was wearing lightweight metal armor. Though from what little Bilbo had about elves, it was likely a lot stronger than it looked. The hood of her black cloak was down at the moment.

The weapons she had on her were two swords (including that sword Lightbringer), three daggers (that Bilbo could see, he strongly suspected that she was carrying more than that), and a shortbow with a quiver of arrows across her back.

Thorin looked over her weapons impassively before saying, "Do try to keep up."

After a few more final check overs, the Company left Rivendell.

* * *

"My Lord Elrond, the dwarves. They're gone."

Gandalf looked up at Lindir's statement with a small grin.

"They'll be long gone before we can catch them," Elrond commented.

Saruman argued with Elrond for a bit before Galadriel said, "More than one famous sword crossed into the Valley."

"What do you mean my lady," Saruman asked.

Gandalf exchanged a glace with Galadriel before saying, "While we were at the troll horde, elven made swords from the First Age were found."

"Which ones were they Gandalf," the White Wizard asked.

"One of them was Glamdring. I have taken it for my own use," Gandalf replied. He was reluctant to discuss the other two in front of Saruman, who he suspected would react poorly.

"Two more than Glamdring were found," Galadriel had a small smile of her own on her face.

"I was getting to the other two my lady. The other two were Orcrist... And Lightbringer."

Silence reigned a few minutes before Saruman asked, "Have they chosen their wielders?"

Elrond took a deep breath before saying, "Lightbringer chose my granddaughter Ashara. Orcrist on the other hand, chose Thorin Oakenshield."

* * *

 **A/N 2: Surprisingly, this chapter turned out to be longer than the first one. What do you guys think that Ashara (and by extension Thorin) don't need to know about their swords just yet, according to Elrond? Can't wait to hear what you all think! SSD**

 **Translations:**

 **ada: father**

 **haru: grandfather**

 **indyeldë** **: granddaughter**

 **savar: jackal**

 **Naugrim a lihlican...: Dwarves and sneaking around...**

 **Acca anwa: Too true.**

 **Casting choices:**

 **Aedric: Ioan Gruffud when he was playing Lancelot in King Arthur**

 **Elladan: Tom Ellis when he was in Merlin**


	3. One Step Forward, Three Steps Back

**Chapter III: One Step Forward, Three Steps Back**

 **A/N: I'm having a lot of fun writing this story. It's good to be back in this fandom. Sorry about the long wait. A lot has happened since the last update. Thanks go to Blondiezhere for the translations of the Khuzdul via Dwarrow Scholar!**

* * *

Rivendell wasn't too far from the beginnings of the Misty Mountains. It was one of the valleys in the foothills leading up to them.

The past few days had been quiet. Too quiet. Ashara felt the urge to cause some minor mayhem, primarily directed at Thorin, who she felt needed to lighten up more than a bit.

As she took a bite out of her lembas, an idea came to her. It was a good one, and she had been on the receiving end of it once, courtesy of her brother Erudan.

When Oin had relieved her of her watch (she'd tried to explain that she didn't need much sleep to no avail). Once Oin was occupied, Ashara got to work on the prank.

The following morning was sure to be interesting!

* * *

Balin woke up first the following morning. He nodded a greeting to Bofur, who was standing the last watch. Then he saw Thorin.

Birds of all types were flocking around and even on top of him.

 _Fili and/or Kili._

Balin also noticed that the she-elf was still awake. He wondered if she had even gone to sleep the night before.

* * *

Thorin slowly woke up. He'd slept like a hibernating bear.

Cooing birds near him, wakened Thorin completely. As he opened his eyes, he realized just how many birds there were and how close they were to him.

Birds were on him, from his chest to his boots. They seemed to be pecking at bread crumbs that covered those places. The birds flew off at his bellow, "FILI, KILI, GET OVER HERE! NOW!"

His nephews came running. Fili asked "What is it **irak'adad**?" Both of their faces were filled with nothing but innocence.

"What the devil were you thinking, wasting all that bread for a prank?"

* * *

While Thorin was tearing into his nephews, who were laughing at the fact that bread crumbs were still stuck to his clothes and that birds were still pecking at them, Balin was looking over the rest of the company. Bofur was snickering at Thorin from behind. Bombur was getting breakfast ready. The others were in various stages of waking up.

Balin looked over and saw the she-elf (he needed to work on calling her by name), Ashara was running a whetstone along her hand and a half sword.

He wondered briefly, _Would she have pranked Thorin or is she just ignoring the tomfoolery?_ Balin had never known an elf to have much of a sense of humor though.

* * *

Ashara only looked up from sharpening her sword when Balin turned around. He likely had suspected her, but dismissed it as a possibility.

She had not intended for Fili and Kili to get into trouble. They reminded her of Erudan in some ways. But judging by the way their uncle was shouting at them, they were not unknown to play pranks.

 _They might prove to be worthy partners in crime at later date,_ Ashara thought.

Before breakfast was served, Thorin brushed off all the lembas crumbs. She could barely restrain her smirk at the sight.

* * *

The rest of the day was spent walking. The Company was nearly out of the foothills and in the mountains themselves. They made good time, only stopping when it was nearly dark.

Ashara chugged the rest of her canteen. Today had been a thirsty day for her, it was now dry as a bone.

"You thirsty lass?"

Ashara turned around. It was Bofur, with a friendly smile on his face.

"Yes, I could use something to drink."

Moments later, Bofur handed his flask, Ashara took at good sized quaff.

As the burning liquid hit the back of her throat, she spit it out.

"I'm sorry Ashara, I thought you would be used to it," Bofur apologized.

A deadly calm voice cut through the air with, "What were you thinking, giving her that?" Thorin's eyes looked like chips of ice with the glare he was skewering Bofur with.

"Ashara was thirsty," Bofur replied, well aware of the iciness in Thorin's tone.

"She has likely never had anything stronger than wine before. You are **ibnith** lucky she did not vomit," Thorin snarled before turning towards Ashara asking, "Are you alright?"

Ashara knew an expression of surprise was on her face before saying, "I've been better. What was that... stuff?"

"It's a bit of a mouthful in Khuzdul. In the common tongue it translates as "White Lightning"," Thorin replied.

"The Dunedain have something similar but they call it Moonshine. I've never had it before, but my brother Erudan did once, and he'll never touch it again," Ashara had a smile on her face from the memory.

Thorin nodded before saying, "Drink some water. It'll make you feel better."

 _Has Hell truly frozen over? Thorin is being nice to an elf,_ Oin thought as he helped Bombur with dinner.

* * *

Ashara, once she was feeling better, decided that she would help Bilbo learn how to use his short sword without harming himself.

"Are you sure I won't hurt you," Bilbo asked yet again.

"Bilbo I've been using a sword for a very long time. You don't have to worry about me," she said with a smile.

She started with his footwork first, not letting the hobbit touch his sword yet, instead they were using sticks in place of bladed weapons.

Fili and Kili were watching the lesson, wanting to see how elves taught swordplay.

"Move your feet, Bilbo," Fili suggested as the hobbit was moving jerkily.

Bilbo was getting frustrated. He'd not been able to land a single hit on Ashara. She was just too bloody fast and even he, with his limited knowledge of such things, could tell she was not going at full speed. Ashara certainly wasn't moving as fast as she was when she was fighting with Thorin.

She'd practically been a blur then.

He could remember some of his Took relatives saying that when you saw two masters of the blade, you would know it and that it was like watching poetry in motion.

Even though the match had been incredibly violent, the movements of the pair had been fluid.

Dinner was eaten quickly and much to Bilbo's chagrin and dismay, he and Ashara were back at it. He had a very bad feeling that he would be feeling awful come morning.

As if she'd read his mind, Ashara said, "You'll be feeling pretty bad for a bit before you get used to the work."

"Bilbo, there are many words I could use to describe how you will be feeling, and none of them are appropriate to be used around a female," Kili said with a look towards Ashara, who's only reply was an eye roll.

"At least he's still on his feet. You and your brother would crash to the ground the moment your **irak'adad** and I let you stop," Dwalin growled.

"My brother and I had similar troubles as well when we were first learning how to use weapons. It took a lot more time than either of us liked, but eventually we were able to move without being in agony," Ashara added.

"How long does that last," Bilbo asked, praying to Yavanna that it would be short.

"It varies from person to person," Ashara replied as she sat down and leaned back against a tree before saying, "We can be done for the night Bilbo. Go get some rest."

* * *

"Ashara you don't need to prove yourself. Get some rest tonight," Balin suggested to the elf when she said she'd do it again.

"Balin, I can go a while without sleep," Ashara said back. The white haired dwarf was one of the easier ones to talk to.

"Ashara, you stood a watch last night. And even when it ended, Kili noticed you did not sleep."

"I wasn't tired."

"You can stand a watch tomorrow night, get some rest." The tone in Balin's voice made it clear that he would not be changing his mind.

As she stalked across the camp, her sharp ears picked up Thorin commenting, "Why won't she sleep? Does she not trust us?"

If Ashara wasn't imagining things, she detected more than a hint of snark in the dwarf kings tone.

 _You don't know very much about elves, do you?_

* * *

Like the morning before, Thorin woke up quietly. After a quick check over, he ascertained that there were no bread crumbs on or near him.

Instead, there was a hissing noise, followed by a series of loud pops, that had him bolting to his feet.

Kili and Ori came running in. The popping began to die down once they reached the fire pit.

"What in Mahal's name was that," Kili asked.

As Thorin looked around the fire, he found the remnants of a small firecracker.

 _Something this small was only meant to make noise,_ Thorin thought to himself.

He looked around the camp. Again everyone was in various stages of wakefulness.

The only other completely awake person at the moment was the she-elf, who had started rekindling the fire. When she was done, she made a spit, and began cooking fish.

"Where did you get the fish?"

"There's a river nearby," she replied without looking at him before saying, "Is there some problem?"

Thorin stared at her as he tried to figure out whether she had been the one to set off the whizzpopper. The she-elf's face betrayed nothing.

* * *

 _Ashara was right. I do feel awful,_ Bilbo thought to himself as walked alongside Oin.

He watched enviously as the elf was ahead of the group as light on her feet as she always seemed to be.

The walking was peaceful for most of the day, until he heard her snarl, "So you aren't troubled by the burden of proof? I should have known that you would have tried to pin anything out of the ordinary on me!"

"Who else would have done it," Thorin growled back.

"I'm sure there are mischief makers in your group," she muttered.

"Why did you come along anyway?"

"Well Mithrandir can be ***very*** persuasive. Then there's the fact that these bloody swords won't work right if I hadn't. And, as a perk, I get to make your life difficult. Is there anything else you want to talk about?"

Bilbo could tell from the tone, that Ashara had a toothy grin on her face. Which could pass for a smile if one wasn't being overly picky.

* * *

If the dwarves had anything to say about her argument with Thorin, they kept it to themselves.

Ashara did not like how she was feeling at the moment. She liked being in complete control (or as close as she could get to it), and ever since she drew Lightbringer, she had not been in anywhere near as much control as she would prefer.

* * *

The next few days were quiet. No more pranks were played. Fili was still curious as to who had gotten his uncle so good with that bread and the birds.

Fili personally had no problem with Ashara's presence. Among other things she had asked both he and Kili assist her with demonstrations for improving Bilbo's skill with a blade.

Bilbo needed to see how one person could fight against two opponents.

When she'd drawn Lightbringer, Thorin asked "I thought you couldn't use that sword?"

Ashara's reply was, "Oh I can use Lightbringer, just not when I'm fighting you."

Without warning, the three of them went at it.

Ashara was very hard to hit, and when he or Kili did hit her, it was only a glancing blow. She was only able to land glancing blows on them as well.

The match had been going on for a bit, with neither side gaining any real ground. In a moment of desperation, Ashara did a move that managed to knock both of his swords from his hands and with another flick of her wrist, disarmed his brother as well.

"That was a good match. Thought that move you did was great, you'll have to teach me how to do it," Kili said as he picked up his sword and put it back in it's scabbard.

"It was one of the best matches I've had in about a century. I did not expect the move to work," Ashara replied as she hand Fili back his two swords back to him.

"This one was much more fun to watch, than the one between you and Thorin in Rivendell. It looked like you two were trying to kill or at least seriously harm one another," Bilbo piped up.

* * *

About five days later, the Company stopped for the night near a mountain lake. The water was clear.

"Do you think it's safe to drink" Bilbo asked Ashara.

Before the elf could answer, they heard several loud "YAHOOS" as the bulk of the dwarves jumped into the lake. They were likely scaring the fish, with the noise they were making.

"Not anymore," was her reply as she put her pack on the ground.

"Hey Ashara, come on in, the waters nice and cool," Fili shouted.

"Watching from here is just fine thank you very much," Ashara shouted back with a grin. Fili and Kili had warmed up to her considerably since the sparring match they'd had for Bilbo. Not that they'd been rude beforehand, far from it. It was nice having some brother figures around. Ashara missed Erudan horribly.

After she'd taken off her armor (Ashara was thankful that it was easy for her to get on and off with little to no help), she noticed that Fili and Kili were walking up, soaking wet and dripping, with identical crooked grins on their faces.

Ashara had a feeling as to what they were up to as she asked, "What are you two up to?" She'd also walked up to them.

"Oh nothing much. Just getting out of the lake for a little bit," Kili replied in a would be innocent tone.

Before she could even make a remark, the two dwarf princes grabbed her by the arms, and started pulling her towards the lake.

"Don't. Even. Think. About. It," Ashara said as she put up some resistance.

The only reply she got was "TOO LATE!" as she was launched into the lake. Ashara hit the water with a shriek.

She decided to let them wait and make them wonder if something hadn't happened to her. When they hurried back into lake to look for her, Ashara swam under water, and yanked them both back under the surface.

Once they all resurfaced for air, splashing erupted between the trio and the rest of the dwarves in the lake.

 _I haven't had this much fun in too long a time,_ Ashara thought with a smile on her face.

* * *

After everyone left the lake soaking wet and shivering, Ashara walked towards her pack. Once she got to it, she began to walk towards the woods.

"Where do you think you're off to," Thorin asked.

"Going to change out of these clothes. Can't be in them all night," Ashara replied.

* * *

Due to his knowledge of plants, Bilbo had been sent to find mushrooms. Unfortunately, he was became quite lost.

He'd found some good mushrooms though.

When things were looking familiar again, Bilbo ran smack dab into Ashara. The mushrooms went flying.

"I'll help you pick them up, I'm sorry about that."

* * *

It would figure that as soon as they got to the High Pass, a massive storm broke.

 _This has got to be one of the worst storms I have ever seen,_ Ashara thought as she tugged her hood up again.

Bilbo had nearly lost his footing several times and he wasn't the only one. Ashara herself was also having trouble.

"We must find shelter," Thorin shouted over the storm.

Dwaling shouted "LOOK OUT!"

Ashara looked up and saw a huge boulder flying through the air and shattering as it hit, with shrapnel and debris falling down on the Company, which was barely avoided.

"This is no thunderstorm. This is a thunder battle. Look," Balin called out.

Through the pelting rain, Ashara could see the rough of something very large and roughly humanoid shaped.

"Bless Me! The legends are true. Giants. stone giants," Bofur seemed transfixed by the sight of the being who had just thrown the biggest boulder Ashara had ever seen in her life above the Company and into another stone giant.

"TAKE COVER YOU FOOL," Thorin roared. As rocks began falling, they chipped away at the already narrow path.

She was standing on the other side of Kili when he called out, "Fili, grab my hand!"

Ashara's eyes went wide as the Company was torn apart by a growing chasm. It seemed as if she was on one knee of a stone giant along with Thorin, Kili, Balin, and Nori.

They were all brought back together again when another stone giant headbutted the one they were on and his knees slammed together again. The Company was doing everything they could to not get crushed by falling rocks or another stone giant.

When things calmed down slightly, Dwalin asked "Where's Bilbo?"

They were all looking around when Ashara saw out of the corner of her eye a pair of hands on the edge.

Moving so fast that the others could barely see, she dove and managed to grab Bilbo's hands right at the moment he slipped, with Fili and Kili holding onto her.

She shouted, "Bilbo, hold on!" Getting him back up was going to be difficult, since both his hands and her gloves were slippery.

Thorin was suddenly on Bilbo's other side on the ledge, _"He's mad,"_ Ashara thought as she pulled Bilbo up while Thorin pushed the hobbit back onto solid ground. He nearly fell himself as he got back onto the path, with Dwalin dragging him up.

"I thought we lost our burglar," Dwalin commented as he stood up again.

"He's been lost ever since he left home. He should not have come, he has no place among us," Thorin growled.

By some miracle, there was a small cave nearby, into which the Company crowded into.

* * *

Ashara had been drowsing a bit when she heard Bilbo blurt, "You're dwarves. You're used to travelling on the road not belonging anywhere!"

She tuned out the conversation and looked over the dwarves. Most were sleeping. However, Thorin was awake and listening to the conversation between Bilbo and Bofur.

"What's that," Bofur queried.

Ashara looked towards Bilbo and saw the blue glow of his sword. She flicked a nod at Thorin.

Thorin shouted, "WAKE UP!"

Before anyone could even move, the ground fell out from beneath their feet.

* * *

 **A/N 2: And we have a cliffhanger. ;) The next chapter will open with a brief vision of the short term future via Elrond, then back to the Goblin tunnels. So...what did you all think of this one? I love hearing what you all think. :) SSD**

 **Translations via Blondiezhere which she got from Khuzdul Scholar.**

 **irak'adad- uncle**

 **ibnith- damn (or something close to it)**


	4. Not the Best Time!

**Chapter IV: Not the Best Time!**

 **A/N: And here we are in Goblin Town! Not the best place for any member of the Company of Thorin Oakenshield be they elf, dwarf, or hobbit. Again, thanks go to Blondiezhere for her help! Enjoy the chapter, SSD!**

 **Italics are thoughts and/or visions, bold is elvish, bolded italics will be Black Speech. Since I cannot find a Black Speech dictionary, Russian will be its stand in. The reason why the Black speech is sometimes not in the Russian is that Ashara and her grandfather can understand it. And as for what happens in the first scene, I believe Elrond understands it (and likely speaks it, but chooses not to) but that was how the vision plays out.**

* * *

 _There was fire in both the trees and on the ground. A hobbit and an elf stood before a pale orc on a white warg: Azog the Defiler._

 _The elf (What was Ashara doing near Azog?) snarled in the Black Speech_ ** _"I challenge you for the right to kill Thorin Oakenshield"_**

 _Azog grinned at the challenge. Before anything else happened, a beam of bright light burst from the sword._

Elrond was quite used to getting the occasional vision. He'd had very bad feelings about his granddaughter traveling through the High Pass. He hoped Gandalf got back to the Company quickly. And it seemed that there had been a purpose to teaching the Black Speech to Ashara after all.

" **Haru,** have you gone mad?" A familiar voice asked. Elrond looked up to see his grandson Erudan burst into his office with the letter that Ashara had left him.

"Your sister asked me the very same question before she left, Erudan," he replied before saying, "Sit down. I will explain everything."

"Oh it better be good, sending Ashara off with a pack of dwarves," the starlight haired young elf growled as he sat down.

* * *

Meanwhile, deep under the Misty Mountains...

 _Just when I thought that things could not get any worse, they did,_ Ashara thought as the Company was shoved along by Goblins.

Fili and Kili were in front and back of her. The Company still had their weapons, but would do them all very little good as they were vastly outnumbered.

Soon they were all in front of what was likely the Goblin King. The other goblins who'd been shoving them along stripped them of all visible weapons. Ashara smirked a bit when her hidden daggers went unnoticed by the frisking and upon exchanging a look with Fili, his daggers had gone unnoticed as well.

"Who would be so bold as to come armed into my kingdom? Spies? Thieves? ASSASSINS?" The Goblin King's voice rose with each query.

"Dwarves and an elf, your malevolence."

"Dwarves and an elf?"

"Found them on the front porch," a goblin replied gleefully.

At that, the Goblin King ordered, "Well don't just stand there search them!"

The goblins went over the entire company again. _They found nothing new on me,_ Ashara thought happily.

"What are you doing in these parts," they were asked by the Goblin King.

Wisely, the Company kept their mouths shut.

"Speak!" the Goblin King snarled. Silence still reigned.

"Very well. If they will not talk, then we'll make them squawk!" the disgusting Goblin King cackled before calling out, "Bring up the Mangler! Bring up the Bone Breaker!"

Turning back towards the Company he said, "Start with the youngest... And the she-elf!"

Before any of the goblins could move towards either her or Ori, Thorin shouted "WAIT!"

While she was grateful that she wouldn't be tortured for the moment, Ashara still thought, _"YOU IDIOT!"_ Before leaving, her grandfather had warned her that the goblins were highly likely in league with the orc pack that had chased the Company on their way to Rivendell.

"Well, well, well! Look who it is! Thorin, Son of Thrain, Son of Thror, King Under the Mountain!" The Goblin King sneered, mocking clear in his tone before going on with, "Oh but I'm forgetting you don't have a mountain and you're not a king. Which makes you nobody really," he cackled.

 _More a king than you will ever be,_ Ashara mentally snarled, surprised at the thought.

"I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your head. Just the head. Nothing attached. Perhaps you know of whom I speak: A pale orc, astride a white warg."

That certainly got all of the Company's attention.

"Azog the Defiler was destroyed. He was slain in battle long ago," Thorin countered back.

"So you think his defiling days are done do you?" The Goblin King turned to a smaller goblin and ordered, "Send word to the Pale Orc, tell him I have his prize!"

* * *

Things went from bad to worse after that message was sent. Even though it had kept she and Ori from being tortured, Thorin revealing himself to an ally of Azog the Defiler had not been one of his best ideas.

Ashara muttered, **"Min ranta beren, neled rantali nûph!"**

Fili, Kili, and Balin looked up at her use of her mother tongue. Thorin asked, "What did you say?"

"You do not need to know the specifics. Just a comment on the mess we're all in. Nothing directed at you," Ashara muttered.

"So much for elven courtesy, speak words everyone can understand," Thorin snarled.

* * *

Balin got the nasty feeling that yet another spat was brewing, so he edged his way towards the pair. The she-elf shot back, Well, I haven't had to deal with dwarves until recently now have I?"

He got to them finally and hissed, "Now is not the best time for one of your two's spats!"

There had been more than few such spats since Ashara joined the Company, which had led to yet another betting pool, which had been started by Bofur, surrounding Thorin and Ashara as to whether they'd wind up kissing or killing one each other. The smart money was on them murdering each other.

Balin wasn't so sure. He hadn't made up his mind yet on the matter. So far, he'd stayed out of it.

The Goblin King had unfortunately noticed what was going on, since he crowed out: "Take a look at this, lads! A lover's quarrel between an elf and a dwarf. Never thought I'd live to see the day *that* happened!"

Balin notice that the pair in questions faces seemed to be a bit pinker than normal, likely from embarrassment.

* * *

Before the Goblin King could make another remark about the spat, goblins began shrieking in fear and the sound of at least two swords falling to the ground. The Goblin King staggered backwards to his throne shouting, "I know those swords! The Goblin Cleaver and it's mate! Biter and Blinder!"

The goblins began hitting the Company with whatever they had on hand.

It took several goblins to bring Thorin down. Once that happened the Goblin ordered "CUT OFF HIS HEAD!"

Before the knife was even swung, a blast of pure energy knocked everyone down onto the floor of the platform.

* * *

 _Or onto each_ _other_ , Thorin thought as he felt the weight on his chest. It would figure that it was the elf on top of him.

As she started to pull herself up a bit, Thorin got a good look at her eyes for the first time. The color was like autumn leaves.

Their faces were close enough to kiss, if that was something he wanted.

 _Where did THAT come from?_

She too seemed to be studying him a bit before coming back to senses and rolled off him.

A familiar voice cut through the air, "Take up arms! Fight! FIGHT!"

Thorin put his strange musings from his mind as there was a greater issue at hand: Getting everyone out of Goblin Town in one piece.

* * *

Getting into Goblin Town, though it had been on accident, had been easy.

 _It's a prison. The problem is never getting in, the problems will come when you want to get out!_ That was something that Ashara remembered Aedric's father Rurik telling her when he returned to Rivendell after escaping from a Haradrim prison.

Lightbringer seemed almost alive in her hands and was glowing bright white as she cut through goblins with ease.

She had completely forgotten about her landing onto Thorin after Gandalf's magic blast as she dodged arrows.

Ashara looked up for a moment as she saw goblins about to swing on ropes to fight them.

"CUT THE ROPES!" Thorin shouted. Ashara cut into the support for the structure the goblins were swinging towards. Those goblins were tangled up and out of the fight.

* * *

As he cut and hacked his way through goblins Thorin noticed that Orcrist was glowing a bright blue like Bilbo's shortsword had before falling into Goblin Town. Lightbringer on the other hand, glowed white as the elf cut her way through her fair share of goblins.

After the swinging bridge and leaving behind one group of goblins, a new one took up the chasing of the Company.

Gandalf got a bit ahead of the rest of the Company, and caused a boulder to fall before them to clear the way, and it served its purpose well, crushing every goblin in it's path. As they rounded the corner, there were no goblins in front of them.

 _Too easy,_ Thorin thought as they came up to the bridge and began to cross it.

Sure enough the Goblin King popped up through the rickety bridge.

"You thought that you could escape _me_ ," he asked before swinging what amounted to his scepter, landing a glancing blow on Gandalf.

The king sneered, "What are you going to do _now_ , wizard?"

Gandalf proceeded to poke the Goblin King in the eye with his staff, then slash him across his distended gut, causing him to fall to his knees saying, "That'll do it". The wizard dealt the death blow by slicing his throat.

When the corpse fell on the bridge, the supports began to crack from the new weight, then gave way. The Company slid down the rocks into the abyss.

* * *

The fall was far from smooth, crashing into either side of the abyss at regular intervals before sliding to a stop at the bottom.

Ashara, in a bit of a daze, noticed that someone was on top of her.

The first thing she noticed was a pair of only too familiar blue eyes. Thorin seemed just as shocked as she was at the awkward landing.

For a lot longer than she was willing to admit to, Ashara got a really good look at Thorin's icy blue eyes.

Having to give herself a mental slap for the second time in Goblin Town, she growled, "Get. Off!"

Ashara in her haste to get up, kneed Thorin in the groin, prompting the dwarf king to gag behind a rock once they got away from one another.

Kili yelled, "GANDALF!"

All of the members of the Company looked up at that and saw that an even larger horde of goblins was descending on them.

"There's too many we can't fight them," Dwalin said as he helped Nori to his feet.

"Only one thing can save us: Daylight. Here, on your feet!" Gandalf replied as he helped Dori and Balin to their feet. As soon as each member was on their feet, they hurtled themselves down the corridor, towards the light.

* * *

Once they were all out in the open, in a clearing, Gandalf started counting who was there. As Thorin ran past him with his nephews close behind him, the wizard noticed that Thorin was running strangely.

It was only then that it was realized that Bilbo had been missing the entire time.

Gandalf asked, clearly frantic, "Where's Bilbo? Where is our Hobbit?"

"Curse that Halfling! Now he's lost. I thought he was with Dori," Gloin muttered.

"Don't blame me," Dori shot back.

"Where did you last see him?" Gandalf queried.

"I think I saw him slip away when they first collared us," Nori answered.

"What happened exactly? Tell me!" Gandalf said.

Thorin spoke before anyone else, saying, "I'll tell you what happened: Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it. He's thought of nothing but his soft bed and his warm hearth since he first stepped out his door. We will not be seeing our hobbit again. He is long gone."

"No he isn't."

* * *

Gandalf looked up with a smile as he saw the formerly missing hobbit come into view.

"Bilbo Baggins! I have never been so glad to see anyone in my life!"

"How on Earth did you get past the goblins," Fili asked, disbelief clear in his tone.

"How indeed," Dwalin also wondered, suspicion was clear in his tone.

"Well what does it matter, he's back." The wizard was trying to diffuse the tension.

"It matters," Thorin said as he took a step closer to Bilbo, "I want to know."

Bilbo took a deep breath before saying, "Look, I know you doubt me. I know you always have. And you're right, I often think of Bag-End. I miss my books. And my arm chair. See that's where I belong. That's home. And that's why I came back because... You don't have one. A home. It was taken from you. But I will help you take it back if I can."

Thorin looked almost guilty. It looked like he was about to apologize when a howl tore through the early evening.

Ashara snarled, **"PUITHO!"**

"Out of the frying pan..." Thorin looked around for the source of the howl.

Gandalf finshed the saying, "And into the fire. Run. RUN!"

* * *

Ashara was running with the others when she heard an orc shout, _**"Run them down, tear them to pieces!"**_

Several wargs were barreling down the hill right at them. The Company managed to kill them quickly. Even Bilbo felled a warg, though he looked shocked by the fact that it actually worked.

When they ran ahead, it became quickly apparent that the Company had been trapped between a warg pack and a _very_ long drop.

 _Barring a miracle from_ _Manwë, we're not just in trouble, we're dead where we stand,_ Ashara thought as Gandalf shouted, "Up into the trees! All of you! Bilbo come on, hurry!"

While Ashara and the dwarves got into the trees with alacrity, Bilbo's short sword was good and stuck in the body of the warg. He barely got up in time to avoid the wargs, and was in the same tree as Fili and Kili.

They saw the leader of the orc pack edge his mount forward. There was only one pale orc, with eyes like that, and rode a white warg.

Azog sniffed the air theatrically before saying, _**"Do you smell it? The scent of fear? I remember your father reeked of it, Thorin son of Thrain."**_

"It cannot be," Thorin said, clearly shocked and devastated.

Azog pointed his mace at Thorin, _**"That one is mine. Kill the rest!"**_ The rest of the riderless wargs bounded towards the trees.

Now the Company became intimately acquainted with just how high wargs could jump. They were also biting off every branch they could reach.

 _ **"Drink their blood!"**_ Azog called out.

With the relentlessness of the wargs attacking the trees, they began to lean and fall causing the Company members to jump through them to the last one where Gandalf was located right at edge of the cliff.

Once she got as situated as possible on the tree, a burning pinecone was dropped into Ashara's hands courtesy of Gandalf who was distributing them amongst the other Company members. They all began pelting the wargs with them along with starting a massive fire.

When most of the riderless wargs bolted Ashara joined in the cheering. Their joy however was to be short lived. The tree they were all on, was starting to tip over the cliff itself. Ashara was particularly pleased that she was on one of the lower sets of branches. Bilbo and Thorin were nearby.

She looked in Gandalf's direction when Dori called out "Mr. Gandalf!" He was barely holding onto his branch and Ori was holding onto his brother's boots.

They nearly fell, but Gandalf used his staff to catch them. Even he could only do so much.

* * *

Ashara was helping Bilbo improve his grip on his branch when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye.

Thorin was going for Azog.

 _Idiot! Azog has the high ground!_ she thought to herself.

Perhaps it would work. But Ashara wouldn't bet any kind of...

Azog on his mount knocked Thorin to the ground. This wasn't likely to end well for the dwarf king.

Thorin tried to get up, but was knocked in the chest with Azog's mace.

Ashara saw Bilbo stand up and make his way forward. She went with him.

"You go for Thorin, I'll come from the side. They'd see me coming, but not you."

She started to sneak around to where she wouldn't be seen. Ashara was still able to see what was going on. It seemed that Azog's warg had picked Thorin up in it's jaws and tossed him.

Her sharp ears picked up, _**"Bring me the dwarf's head."**_

Thorin it seemed was still barely conscious and was trying to grab Orcrist which was just out of his reach.

The orc placed it's sword at Thorin's neck. Just as he was about to swing, Bilbo barreled right into the orc, knocking the sword out it's hands and the orc onto the ground. The hobbit began stabbing the orc about his chest and neck.

 _Well done, Bilbo!_ Ashara grinned as she slunk closer, but she could tell that Thorin had finally slipped into unconsciousness.

 _Oh no you don't!_

Ashara started crawling on the ground to avoid being seen by the orcs. Bilbo was standing between them and Thorin's body (he wasn't dead yet!).

Azog and what remained his pack crept forward at the white orc's order, **_"Kill him."_**

At that she grabbed Orcrist and drew Lightbringer as she stood up snarling in the Black Speech, **_"YA prizyvayu vas za pravo ubit' Torina Okenshil'da!"_**

Before Azog could do anything more than growl, the dwarves had flanked the orc pack. Ashara sprung into action, the swords seeming to come alive in her hands as they cut into both wargs and orcs with ease, glowing blue and white.

All of the sudden, Ashara heard the piercing cry of an eagle. She looked up and saw that they were both picking up the dwarves and throwing the orcs and wargs all around and away.

After Bilbo was picked up, she jumped off the cliff and landed on the back of an eagle. The Company flew away as Azog roared in anger.

* * *

Ashara really didn't like flying. Though it was preferable to being killed by orcs. Looking down made her want to vomit.

Just when she thought she could not stand it anymore, the Eagles began flying low enough for everyone to get off onto the rock of the Carrock.

Before she could move her feet, Gandalf was already checking on Thorin. And was likely using some magic to get him back up on his feet.

Whatever the wizard had done, it worked, because she heard a familiar voice murmur, "The Halfling?"

"It's alright. Bilbo is here, and he's quite safe," Gandalf replied.

Thorin got to his feet, with some help from Dwalin and Kili. It looked like he wanted to tear Bilbo a new bodily orifice. Gandalf watched warily.

"YOU! What were you doing? You nearly got yourself killed! Did I not say that you would be a burden? That you would not survive in the wild? That you had no place amongst us," Thorin growled.

Then the dwarf king did something she did not expect and said, "I have never been so wrong in all my life." At that he hugged Bilbo.

 _It's about damn time,_ Ashara thought as she smiled at Thorin finally lightening up on Bilbo.

"I'm sorry I doubted you," Thorin apologized as he stepped away.

"No, I would have doubted me too. I'm not a hero or a warrior," Bilbo flicked a glance at Gandalf, "Not even a burglar."

They all watched the Eagles fly off. It was a sight. Ashara was still pleased to be back on her own two feet, thank you very much.

"Where's Orcrist?" Kili asked. Thorin had moved his hand to grab it to come up empty.

"I believe I have something that belongs to you," Ashara said as she moved forward before she handed Orcrist back to Thorin.

Their eyes met and he nodded his thanks. That would have to do for now.

"Is that what I think it is," Bilbo asked looking off into the distance.

Gandalf spoke first, "Erebor. The Lonely Mountain. The last of the great Dwarf Kingdoms of Middle Earth."

"Our Home," Thorin replied with a tired smile on his face.

As a bird flew by them chirping, Oin called out, "A raven! The birds are returning to the mountain!"

Gandalf replied, "That my dear Oin, is a thrush."

"But we'll take it as a sign. A good omen" Thorin replied.

"You're right. I do believe the worst is behind us," Bilbo replied.

* * *

As they made their way down the Carrock, Bilbo asked, "Ashara, what did you say to Azog in that language?"

"You would be happier not knowing. And it isn't worth repeating at the present time," Ashara replied.

"And if I asked you," Thorin said as he came level with the elf.

"I would give you the same answer. I might share at a later time, but for the moment, do not ask me what I said to Azog!"

 _I don't think you'd like it._

* * *

 **A/N 2: That took a bit longer than I would have liked it to. But the chapter got longer as well. Looking forward to seeing what you all think!**

 **Now for the translations. Some of these are repeats, and one of them I got from the story The Hidden Heir. I will not be giving the translation for that word, but I think it can be guessed... ;)**

 **Haru-grandfather**

 **"YA prizyvayu vas za pravo ubit' Torina Okenshil'da!"- "I challenge you for the right to kill Thorin Oakenshield!" I don't think Thorin would like that very much if he knew? What do you all think?**

 **Puitho- I'm sure you all can guess...**

 **Casting choices:**

 **Ashara- Rhona Mitra as she was in Underworld Rise of the Lycans, except with hazel-gold eyes.**

 **Erudan- Harry Lloyd as he was in Game of Thrones. Though he won't be mad!**


	5. Crashdown

**Chapter V: Crashdown**

 **A/N: Now we are into Desolation of Smaug. This will be the first of two chapters at Beorn's. So it will be a little shorter than usual. Thanks go to BlondiezHere for her help with the Sindarin. Enjoy the chapter! SSD.**

 **Bold is elvish and bolded italics is Black Speech.**

* * *

They were all taking a breather while Bilbo was looking for the orc pack. The Company had been running almost constantly since they had left the Carrock.

Ashara felt like death warmed over. She wasn't using the open eyed sleep, even though she probably could get away with it. However, she wanted to be as aware as possible of her surroundings.

 **"** **Hiril nín** , you need to rest," Gandalf said as he sat down next to her. Ashara knew what he wanted her to do.

"I need to have my wits about me, Mithrandir. I need to be fully aware," she said as she cracked her neck.

"You have been running yourself ragged since we left the Carrock. You would accomplish very little if you collapse," the wizard replied.

Before the conversation could continue, it was interrupted by Bilbo running to the group panting, "We need to go!"

"How close is the orc pack?" Dwalin asked.

"Too close. A couple of leagues, no more, but that is not the worst of it," the hobbit replied.

"Have the wargs picked up our scent?" Dwalin continued his line of questioning.

"Not yet, but they will. We have another problem."

Gandalf stepped away from Ashara then asked, "Did they see you?"

"No that's not it!"

"What did I tell you? Quiet as a mouse. Excellent burglar material!" Gandalf had a self satisfied grin on his face.

The dwarves began arguing.

Ashara noticed that Bilbo was trying to say something more so she hissed, "Bilbo hasn't finished telling use what we need to know. Shut up!"

"Thank you Ashara. I'm trying to tell you there's something else out there!"

Everyone shut up at that bit of news.

"What form did it take? Like a bear?" the wizard asked.

"Yes, but bigger. Much bigger..." the hobbit trailed off.

"You knew about this beast?" Bofur asked Gandalf before suggesting "I say we double back."

"And get run down by a pack of orcs?" Thorin argued back.

Gandalf wasn't facing the Company at first when he said, "There is a house. It is not far from here, where we might take refuge."

"Who's house? Are they friend or foe?" Thorin asked.

"Neither. He will help us or kill us," Gandalf replied.

 _That's a cheery thought,_ Ashara mentally groaned.

"What choice do we have?"

An echoing roar sounded behind them. It was far too close for anyone's liking.

"None," was Ashara's reply as she bolted down the path, with the others following as fast as they could.

* * *

Knowing that there was a place they could rest was one thing. Getting to it in one piece was another matter entirely.

Everyone was running at full tilt. Bilbo saw Ashara near the front with Gandalf.

To the astonishment of everyone, _Bombur_ was the one who was passing almost everyone else!

Finally they to the outer wall consisting of trees, to where the house likely was. The beast was chasing them and roaring.

A small bit of humor happened when Bombur just bounced off the shut door.

"OPEN THE DOOR!" Gandalf shouted.

There was some brief scrambling before Thorin darted forward and lifted the latch. Everyone bolted inside and got in by the skin of their teeth.

Several of the dwarves and Ashara were battling to shut the door against the beast.

Ori panted, "What... Is that?"

"That is our host. His name is Beorn, he's a skinchanger. Sometimes he's a huge black bear. Sometimes he's a great strong man. The bear is unpredictable, but the man _can_ be reasoned with. However... He is not overly fond of dwarves!" Gandalf explained.

"Valar help us all..." Ashara groaned before she crashed to the floor.

Moving faster than Bilbo thought possible, Thorin caught her before she could hit the ground.

Gandalf strode towards the dwarf king saying, "Give her to me. I _told_ her to use the open eyed sleep!"

The wizard picked her up easily, then laid her down on a soft pile of hay, and proceeded to strip her of all visible weapons.

"What do you mean by open eyed sleep?" Ori asked.

"Elves do not need as much sleep as the other peoples of Middle Earth. They can enter into a trance like state and still do things like walk and ride a horse," Gandalf replied. He was finding daggers hidden everywhere on Ashara's person.

"What does it do for them?" Ori asked as he scrawled in his book.

"The open eyed sleep restores their energy and provides recuperation."

"Are they aware of what is happening around them while in that state," Ori loved learning new things.

"Somewhat yes. But they can't follow conversations. Ashara however, hasn't slept in over a week. She won't be aware of what's going on around her for at least a day, if not longer," the wizard replied again as he removed the last of Ashara's daggers. Fili looked impressed at how many she'd managed to hide.

"And don't even think about waking her up. Ashara can be most... Unpleasant when she wakes up before she is ready." Gandalf seemed to be looking directly at Thorin whilst saying that.

With little else left to do but wait for Beorn to change back to his human form, the dwarves began to bed down for the night.

* * *

Ashara slowly came back to her senses, even though she could tell that she wasn't completely restored. She had a very bad feeling that Gandalf would be chastising her at the first opportunity.

"She-elf, wake up!" A voice called out as someone shook her shoulder.

Without even thinking, Ashara shot her hand hard in the direction of the voice, hoping to break their nose. Her fist hit air.

"What in Mahal's name did you do THAT for?!"

 _Of COURSE it was Thorin!_ Ashara thought with a smirk as she dusted the hay off of her as she ambled into what was likely the dining room.

Gandalf was puffing on his pipe as Thorin entered the room behind her. He said to the dwarf king, "I did warn you about waking her up before she was ready."

Some of the dwarves snickered at the wizard's comment. Ashara tore into the food that she suspected Gandalf had set aside for her.

* * *

"I say we should beat it. Slip out the back way," Nori suggested. Thorin noticed that Bilbo was finally awake.

"I'm not running from anyone. Beast or no!" Dwalin snarled back.

Several of his kinsmen began to argue before Gandalf cut in saying, "There is no point in arguing. We cannot pass through the Wilderland without Beorn's help! We would be hunted down, before we could get to the forest."

Upon noticing the hobbit, the wizard said, "Bilbo, there you are. Now this will require some delicate handling. We must tread very carefully. The last person who startled him was torn to shreds!"

"I will go first, and Bilbo, you come with me."

"Is-Is this a good idea?" the hobbit stammered.

"Yes. Now the rest of you, you just wait here and don't come out until I give the signal," Gandalf instructed.

"Right. Wait for the signal," anxiety was clear in Bofur's voice.

"No sudden movements or loud noises. And don't overcrowd him. Only come out in pairs." Gandalf started to go outside before turning back and saying, "Oh, actually Bombur you count as two, so come out alone."

Just when Thorin thought the wizard was done, he suggested, "Ashara, Thorin. You two come outside last."

All the she-elf did was roll her eyes. She looked too tired to argue.

* * *

Bilbo was still shaking his head in disbelief at Gandalf's suggestion in regards to Thorin and Ashara.

"Why did you do that to them? You're asking for trouble!" Bilbo hissed, not wanting to startle the skinchanger.

"I've seen such behavior like that from many people for many years. And it usually ended in one way," was the wizard's reply.

"In brutally murdering each other?" Bilbo was confused.

"Something rather less bloody and far more... Productive."

"Like what?" Bilbo frowned.

The only reply from the wizard was a smirk before he greeted the skinchanger.

* * *

Thankfully there had been no bloodshed after Beorn welcomed the Company into his home. Ashara was having trouble stifling her yawns. She had never been so tired in her life, so she wasn't paying much attention to the conversation going on.

"I don't like dwarves. They're greedy, and blind. Blind to the lives of those they deem lesser than their own," Beorn growled.

Ashara felt the tension rise in the room, and she slowly mover her hand towards Lightbringer.

The tension went away when the skinchanger said, "But orcs I hate more. What do you need?"

"A way to get to the forest. But a safe place to rest and regain our strength would suffice first," Gandalf replied.

Ashara walked back to the pile of hay she'd slept on earlier and fell asleep before she hit the hay.

* * *

Meanwhile at Dol Guldur...

Today was not Azog's day. It hadn't been a good week either. Thorin Oakenshield and his Company had been in his grasp to destroy as he wished. Then those damned eagles came to the rescue, whisking them away.

He'd come close yet again, but a skinchanger had been watching and he'd been summoned back here by his Master, who unknown to many was Sauron.

 ** _"U vas byl korol-karik v chelyusti vashego volka. Chto pomeshalo vam ubit' yego?"_ ** Sauron hissed.

Azog snarled, _**"Zhenskiy elf i khobbitov meshali mne. U neye bylo dva svetyashchikhsya mecha. Odin svetyashchiysya belyy, drugoy siniy."**_

 _ **"** **Oni vyglyadeli odinakovo?"**_ His master asked before saying, _**"Nevazhno. YA sam posmotryu v svoi mysli!"**_

 _ **"** **Vpechatlyayet. Naiboleye vpechatlyayushchim. Lyubovniki v rukakh el'fa i** **karlika.** " _His master sounded amused and still did when he said, _**"Iz togo, chto ya nablyudal, vy luchshe vsego ubivayete Okenshil'da, prezhde chem el'fiy sdelayet eto za vas!"**_

* * *

 **A/N 2: The Russian is from Google translate. Elvish is courtesy of Parf Edhellen. I don't speak the Russian language, no matter how much I would love to. Looking forward to hearing what you all think! This chapter is a birthday present for my dad. He's the one who got me into Tolkien in the first place!**

 **Here are the translations:**

 **Sindarin:**

 **Hiril nín-** **My lady.**

 **Black Speech:**

 _ **"U vas byl korol-karik v chelyusti vashego volka. Chto pomeshalo vam ubit' yego?"-**_ _ **"You had the dwarf king in the jaws of your wolf. What stopped you from killing him?"**_

 ** _"Zhenskiy elf i khobbitov meshali mne. U neye bylo dva svetyashchikhsya mecha. Odin svetyashchiysya belyy, drugoy siniy."- A female elf and hobbit got in my way. She had two glowing swords. One glowed white, the other blue."_**

 ** _"_** ** _Oni vyglyadeli odinakovo?"- "Did they look alike?"_**

 ** _"_** ** _Nevazhno. YA sam posmotryu v svoi mysli!"- "Nevermind. I will look into your mind myself!"_**

 ** _"_** ** _Vpechatlyayet. Naiboleye vpechatlyayushchim. Lyubovniki v rukakh el'fa i_** **_karlika."- Impressive. Most impressive._** The rest of the statement from Sauron will go untranslated, since it gives away the name of the matched set of Orcrist and Lightbringer, which is a major plot point.

 ** _"Iz togo, chto ya nablyudal, vy luchshe vsego ubivayete Okenshil'da, prezhde chem el'fiy sdelayet eto za vas!"- From what I have observed, you best kill her before she kills Oakenshield for you!"_**


	6. Spiders Why Did it Have to be Spiders?

**Chapter VI: Spiders. Why Did it Have to be Spiders?**

 **A/N: Took a little longer than I would like, but I finally finished it. It's the rest of Beorn's place and into Mirkwood. Hope you all can catch where I got the title of the chapter from! Thanks go to Blondiezhere for the translations among other things! Elvish and Khuzdul are in bold. Here's the chapter! SSD**

* * *

 _Somehow she was back in Rivendell. Ashara would know the sound of those fountains anywhere. Looked like her grandfather wanted to speak to her._

 _"You should have used the open eyed sleep,_ **indyeldë** _."_

 _Turning around Ashara replied, "Gandalf has already chastised me on the matter. What is going on_ **haru**? _You do not use the dream speak lightly."_

 _"Just a warning. Be careful when you enter that forest. There is a magic about it that will cloud the minds of those that enter it. The dwarves and the hobbit will be more affected by it than you will."_

 _"Will I have any trouble?"_

 _"Some, because you are not from there. It's time for you to wake up. It's been three days, and all of your companions are worried about you."_

* * *

Ashara blearily opened her eyes, finally feeling better than she had since before the Goblin tunnels.

Her mind cleared even more when she felt something small leap onto her chest and began licking her face. Upon opening her eyes, Ashara saw that it was a wolf pup with reddish-brown fur and yellow eyes. It cocked it's head to one side when it saw Ashara was awake.

"Good morning pup. Please get up so I can eat. I'll give you some of it," Ashara coaxed.

After giving her face a final lick, the pup got up and started walking towards the kitchen.

There was no one there, everyone seemed to be outside.

Ravenous with hunger, as it had been three days since she'd last ate, Ashara began to cook several sausages and some bacon. Contrary to popular opinion, elves did eat meat and enjoy it!

While the meat was sizzling, she began making some hotcakes and toast.

Out of the corner of her eye, Ashara saw two familiar hands moving towards the sausages. She managed to whack both hands with the hot tongs.

"OW! What was that for?" Kili asked as he rubbed his hand. His brother did the same.

"You two will wait until they're done cooking. I get the first helping, I'm quite hungry," Ashara replied with a grin before saying "Set the table, please."

Once the large meal was finished, Ashara motioned to the dwarf princes to join her.

After sitting down, she tossed one of the sausages to the wolf pup who had followed her around the kitchen.

* * *

Balin was glad for the respite at Beorn's house. Everyone needed the rest.

Ashara had slept for three days, which had concerned certain unnamed members of the Company, but Gandalf had said it was normal for the situation. Upon waking up, she had made a large meal, and ate more than Fili and Kili thought an elf would.

At the moment she was showing Fili where she hid all of her daggers that Gandalf had taken from her while she slept. Most of them were the usual spots, but there some built in and well hidden sheathes in her armor.

As the pair began practicing throwing knives, Balin notice Thorin watching the scene with narrowed eyes. His gaze was primarily on Ashara, who was pointedly ignoring him.

If he didn't know Thorin any better, Balin would think...

 _Mahal, you better not be doing what I think you're doing!_

He could almost hear laughter that wasn't his own in the back of his mind.

* * *

After training with knives all day, Ashara, Fili, and Kili who had joined them in the afternoon knew that they needed to get indoors for the evening. It had been a good day.

"Where in Mahal's name have you been?"

 _"And now it goes to hell,"_ Ashara thought.

"Uncle, we weren't that far away. We were just practicing throwing daggers," Fili came to the rescue, hoping to stave off another spat.

Once Thorin was out of earshot, Fili asked her, "Where did you get the idea to have those sheathes built into your armor?"

Ashara thought for a moment before replying, "A ranger I know fairly well, Soren had blades hidden in his armor. He was the one who showed me what I showed you. She knew that she had a sad smile on her face.

"I'd like to talk to him sometime, compare notes." Fili said with a grin.

"So would I. He's been missing for 15 years. Though my grandfather seems to think he's alive."

* * *

Dinner was going fairly smoothly, with some conversation concerning what they'd done over the course of the day.

Until Ashara started coughing and hacking. Her eyes were watering as well.

Bilbo took a sniff at the pepper shaker she'd just set down. As he caught the scent, Bilbo exclaimed, "Ashara what were you thinking? This is powdered ghost pepper. You don't need a lot of this!"

"Thought... it was... regular pepper," the elf replied in between coughs.

* * *

After Kili handed Ashara a glass of milk to better deal with the intense heat, he glanced in his uncle's direction.

While the rest of the Company had given some kind of reaction to Ashara's predicament, his uncle had shown nothing. Then again, he and Fili had pulled enough pranks themselves, that Thorin could just be ignoring it.

Or he was the perpetrator himself. His uncle had an excellent poker face.

* * *

Ashara *knew* that damned dwarf king had pulled that prank on her. She was more than willing to admit that he'd gotten her good.

However she had a good way to get him back!

* * *

Most of the Company woke up the following morning to Thorin shouting in Khuzdul and loud barking.

Fili barely heard someone snickering as he turned around and saw Ashara with the biggest self satisfied smirk he'd ever seen.

It didn't fade one bit as the dagger his uncle threw landed between her fingers.

"You **naskhûna**! You set those wolves on me!"

"Consider it repayment for the ghost pepper powder last night!" Ashara replied with a smile that that would scare a Balrog. She was slowly reaching for her sword.

Before that could happen, Gandalf came up, grabbed their elbows and dragged them outside saying, "Now listen here you two..." before leaving earshot.

* * *

After the wizard dragged Thorin and Ashara outside, everyone else did their best to go about their business, as if they weren't curious as to what Gandalf was saying.

Bilbo had noticed Beorn cringing several times. Apparently he could hear every word.

As Nori made his way towards the door, the Skinchanger stopped him.

"You really do not want to know what the wizard is saying to them," Beorn said with a shudder.

While they were all curious, if Beorn was edgy about what Gandalf was saying, then it was likely unwise to interrupt the wizard in his reaming out.

About 30 minutes after leaving, both Thorin and Ashara were back in the cabin, looking everywhere but at each other. Gandalf was close behind, clearly exasperated by their behavior.

Before Bilbo could say anything further, Ashara turned towards him and said, "Let's go outside. You still need to practice your sword work."

* * *

The next few days, Thorin and Ashara were so polite to each other it was scaring everyone else.

No one dared ask what Gandalf had said to them.

* * *

After being at Beorn's for a week, they were all getting restless.

 _It will be nice to ride and use the open eyed sleep,_ Ashara thought as she mounted her horse.

The open eyed sleep would also serve the purpose of helping her avoid speaking to Thorin.

"Go. While you have the light," Beorn instructed.

Once they got going, she let herself fall into the state that would help her rest and help her keep her wits when she entered Mirkwood.

* * *

When the Company arrived outside of Mirkwood, it was nothing like what Bilbo had expected it to be. Something was not right.

He'd already began dismounting when Gandalf said, "Set the ponies loose. Let them return to their master."

Bilbo glanced towards Ashara who was still mounted. Her eyes were open but somewhat glassy. He tapped her on the leg saying, "Ashara, we're outside of Mirkwood."

The elf shook her head and smiled, "Thank you Bilbo."

* * *

Once she sent her horse off, Ashara heard Bilbo say, "This forest feels... sick. As if some disease lies upon it."

 _You've certainly let things go haven't you Thranduil?_ Ashara thought.

There was no avoiding Mirkwood. It was the most direct way to the Mountain.

Ashara felt a sudden feeling of darkness come over the area, but she wasn't sure where it came from.

Gandalf had been looking around near the gate before rushing out shouting, "Not my horse, I'll be needing it!"

"You're not leaving us?" Bilbo asked.

"I would not do this unless I had to," Gandalf said as he mounted his horse.

Ashara felt a wave of anxiety course through her veins.

"I'll be waiting for you at the overlook, before the slopes of Erebor. Keep the map and key safe. Do not enter that mountain without me."

Before he galloped off, Gandalf said to her, **"Lenga ech!"**

* * *

At first, things felt normal in the forest. Everyone was walking in single file along the path.

Kili was in front of Bilbo, and Ashara was behind him. It made him feel much better that two of the better fighters were nearest to him.

Bilbo was unsure of how long they had been walking when Fili called out, "We found the bridge!"

He barely suppressed a groan when he saw that the bridge was damaged so that they could not cross the river in a conventional manner.

"We could try and swim it?" Bofur suggested.

"Didn't you hear what Gandalf said? A dark magic lies upon this forest. The waters of this stream are enchanted," Thorin reminded.

"It doesn't look very enchanting to me," Bofur murmured.

"We must find another way across," Thorin said while looking distastefully at the disrepair of the bridge.

The water looked really inviting to Bilbo before Ashara shook his shoulder.

"These vines look strong enough," Fili said and made to climb them.

"Fili. We send the lightest first."

First the dwarves looked at Ashara before she said, "I'll take my chances jumping across."

At that, she took a running start and jumped cleanly from one side of the bridge to the other.

Bilbo heard Thorin mutter "Showoff". The only reply was a snicker from Ashara.

* * *

Ashara happy to be across the river. It helped clear her mind of the magic that was trying to worm its way in.

Shaking her head again to clear it, Ashara helped Bilbo to his feet after he managed to get across using the vines.

 _What in the name of Morgoth has Thranduil been up to?_ Ashara mentally snarled. She wondered if her grandfather knew what was going on it what was once called Greenwood the Great.

"Something is _not_ right," Bilbo murmured before shouting, "Stay where you are!"

Of course the dwarves had already started crossing the river via the vines. Some were doing better than others.

Bombur was nearly falling asleep.

As the Valar would have it, Thorin was the first dwarf across.

Ashara heard some rustling and drew her hand and a half sword at the sound.

It was a white stag.

 _SHIT! Thranduil will know we are here sooner rather than later,_ Ashara thought.

She had hoped to avoid the ruler of the Woodland Realm. Thranduil was difficult enough to deal with, even under the best circumstances.

Ashara also wanted to keep up the illusion that she was an ordinary elven soldier. She had come to enjoy the anonymity she'd found with the dwarves. And that anonymity would be lost the moment Thranduil or his son Legolas saw her.

Before she could say anything, Thorin shot an arrow at the stag, though he missed.

"You shouldn't have done that. It's bad luck," Bilbo said while looking in the direction the stag had bounded off.

"I don't believe in luck. We make our own luck!" Thorin declared.

Bombur proceeded to fall backwards onto a branch and fell asleep, snoring.

"Say what you will about our "luck" Oakenshield, that stag you shot at is a messenger of sorts for Thranduil. So he will know we are here, if he doesn't know already!" Ashara said with a sidelong glance at the dwarf king.

Before an argument could break out, Bilbo hissed, "Instead of you two arguing like an old married couple, perhaps the focus should be on getting Bombur out of the river!"

* * *

Bilbo had thought himself to be a decent climber.

 _Hopefully when I get to the top, I can clear my head!_

It would also serve the purpose of some rare alone time. The dark magic of Mirkwood was affecting all of the Company. Even Ashara seemed to be having some problems. Though it seemed to be less so than any of the others. Bilbo figured it was a perk of being an elf.

As soon as he reached the top of the tree, his mind cleared. Bilbo called out, "I can see a lake! And a river. And the Lonely Mountain! We're almost there!"

When he got no answers, Bilbo asked, "Can you hear me? I know which way to go!"

Since silence reigned again, Bilbo called, "Hello?"

Worried, he began to climb down the tree before slipping into a bunch of webs.

 _WEBS?!_

Then Bilbo saw the biggest spider he'd ever seen. After he slipped and fell, the spider wrapped him up and tossed him further down.

* * *

 _Things just keep getting better and better in Mirkwood!_ Thorin thought sarcastically as he struggled to get out of the web sack.

The spiders had been on them in an instant, before any of them could draw their weapons.

He could barely see through the webbing. What little he could see of the web sacks nearby, those in there were still struggling.

If Thorin strained his ears, he could hear what was likely curses in one of the elven tongues. The she-elf was still conscious.

Before he could think on the matter any further, Thorin found himself falling through the air, and hitting the forest floor hard. He heard several more hard hits.

Thorin managed to cut himself free with a dagger. Ashara was already out, her armor still covered in some webbing. She was helping Fili cut himself loose. And judging by where the remnants of her sack were, it was likely she'd landed on his oldest nephew.

Ignoring the hum of some unnamed emotion, Thorin went and checked on the others. He called out, "We need to get moving. Those spiders will be back, and in greater numbers!"

* * *

 **"Sanka** **liantës!"** Ashara muttered as the Company was running from yet another pack of spiders.

Just as the pack was about to catch them, Ashara noticed movement in the trees that were _not_ spiders. It seemed that Thranduil's guards had finally shown up and were dispatching the spiders with ease.

Ashara then saw an only too familiar head of blond hair: Legolas.

 _Damn. He's going to recognize me the moment I take off my helmet. Probably before!_

After being surrounded, the exchange between Thorin and Legolas went downhill the moment after Legolas accused Thorin of stealing Orcrist.

"Your weapons. Now," one of the guards growled at her.

Upon deciding that there was no need to start a scene, Ashara gave up all her visible weapons.

"Remove your helmet."

Ashara could not suppress her groan of reluctance. The guard snarled, "Remove your helmet, or I will remove it for you!"

Glaring at the guard all the while, Ashara took off her helmet.

It would figure that the moment she handed it to the guard, Legolas would turn around. His eyes went wide.

 **"Hiril nín, Nat** **yë haiya var Imladris."**

She replied, " **Návë farina arliantës** **nánë ala panin."**

 **"Manu nar le carya as naugrim?"** Legolas asked again.

 **"Mithrandir's inea,"** Ashara replied with an eye roll. Legolas grinned a bit at that.

Turning to the guard Legolas ordered, **"Anno i carnas opto** **anzya."**

* * *

Thorin watched with narrowed eyes as Ashara's weapons were returned to her without fuss upon the order from the head of the patrol.

 _Who is she to command such respect?_

As they were marched into the palace, Thorin realized that he knew very little about the she-elf who was traveling with the Company.

* * *

 **A/N 2: And everyone is in the palace. How much longer do you all think Ashara's cover as an ordinary elven soldier will last? Will Thranduil keep his mouth shut or will he be an ass? Looking forward to hearing what you think of the chapter!**

 **Translations:**

 **Sanka** **liantës!- Hate spiders!**

 **Hiril nín, Nat** **yë haiya var Imladris- My lady, you are far from Rivendell.**

 **Návë farina arliantës** **nánë ala panin- Being hunted by spiders was not planned.**

 **Manu nar le carya as naugrim?- What are you doing with dwarves?**

 **Mithrandir's inea- Gandalf's idea.**

 **Anno i carnas opto** **anzya- Give the weapons back to her.**

 **Khuzdul Translation:**

 **naskhûna- temptress**


	7. The Way They're Carrying On

**Chapter VII: The Way They're Carrying On...**

 **A/N: Finally a faster update. This was another fun chapter to write. Blondiezhere helped with the Khuzdul and the elvish. Translations will be given at the end. Enjoy the chapter! SSD**

* * *

"Some may imagine a noble quest is at hand. A quest to reclaim a homeland and slay a dragon," the point-ear king started.

 _"I am not going to volunteer any information!"_ Thorin thought.

"I myself suspect a more prosaic motive. Attempted burglary or something of that ilk. You found a way in."

 _"Do elves have the ability to read minds?"_ Thorin wondered. Ashara herself had made what he'd thought at the time to be lucky guesses.

"You seek that which would bestow upon you the right to rule. The King's Jewel. The Arkenstone. It is precious to you beyond measure. I understand that. There are gems in the Mountain that I too desire: White gems of pure starlight," the elf king remarked.

Thorin remembered _that_ incident all too well.

"I offer you my help."

"I am listening," Thorin stated.

"I will let you go, if but return what is mine."

He turned around then said, "A favor for a favor?"

"You have my word, one king to another." Thranduil said.

"I would not trust Thranduil, the great king, to honor his word should the end of all days be upon us! YOU! Who lack all honor!" Thorin turned to face Thranduil. "I have seen how you treat your friends: We came to you once, starving, homeless, seeking your help... But you turned your back! You turned away from the suffering of my people and the inferno that destroyed us! **Imrid amrâd ursul!** " Thorin shouted.

Moving almost faster than Thorin could see, Thranduil was up in his face hissing, "Do not talk to me of dragon fire! I know... it's wrath and ruin!"

Suddenly the skin on the left side of Thranduil's face seemed to melt away showing a horrible wound that went down to the muscles of his jaw. "I have fought the great serpents of the North!"

The elf king regained some of his composure before saying, "I warned your grandfather of what his greed would summon. But he would not listen." The king started ascending his throne, "You are just like him."

Thranduil motioned to his guards who grabbed him. Thorin began struggling.

"Stay here if you will and rot. 100 years is a mere blink in the life of an elf. I'm patient. I can wait."

As Thorin was being dragged away, Thranduil called out one last thing: "Oh by the way... Did you know you travel with the granddaughter of Elrond? Practically a princess she is- I cannot fathom what would make her debase herself to the point of willingly traveling with dwarves!"

* * *

Ashara cringed as the dwarves were thrown into their cells. She had not been thrown in one yet. At least not down here.

Her cell would likely be very different than the ones here. Ashara smirked as Fili snuck two of his daggers past the elf who searched him before pushing him into his cell./

Tauriel was dealing with Kili. Ashara had not seen her since Legolas's last visit to Rivendell roughly a century prior. They'd gotten along fairly well.

Kili asked cheekily, "Aren't you going to search me? I could have anything down my trousers!"

"Or nothing!" Tauriel replied as she shut the door to his cell. Ashara did not even bother to suppress her snort of amusement.

She walked behind Tauriel to the other end of the dungeon level, and felt the eyes of the dwarves on her the entire time.

While they walked up the stairs Tauriel asked, **"Ta caro ala ista carota?"**

Ashara replied, **"Ala voro. Inyë caurë ta rato** **mendë."**

* * *

Almost immediately after Thorin was thrown into his cell, Balin asked, "Did he offer you a deal?"

"He did. I told him he could **îsh kakhfê ai'd dur-rugnul!** Him and all his kin!" Thorin shouted.

"Well that's that then. A deal was our only hope," Balin said before asking, "Have you seen Ashara?"

Thorin felt his ire rise again as he snarled, "Do not speak to me of that lying **kanbûna u nu' durûz!"**

Clearly shocked Balin asked, "What the **razâd** are you talking about? How did Ashara lie to us?"

"She neglected to mention that she's the granddaughter of Elrond! Practically a princess!"

His most trusted advisor was silent for a moment before saying, "If Thranduil told you that, he might have done it to mess with you."

Thorin would not put it past Thranduil to cause trouble. He said, "She has not exactly been forthcoming with information about herself, at least with me."

"You haven't been the most welcoming Thorin, what reason would Ashara have to share information like that?" Balin asked.

* * *

Ashara basked in the private bathing area that was attached to her room. She really wanted to be alone in her thoughts, since she had been surrounded by males for the past few months, privacy was something Ashara had come to heartily appreciate.

The webs were an absolute nightmare to get out of her hair. Ashara had needed to wash her hair three times before she was satisfied that all of it was removed.

A large part of her felt bad that the dwarves she'd come to view as good friends, with Fili and Kili becoming practically surrogate brothers, had been thrown in the dungeons, where Ashara herself had gotten a room and a bed.

It was likely only Thranduil's respect for her grandfather and great-grandmother that had kept her out of the dungeons.

As soon as she got dressed (Tauriel had loaned her some clothes as all of her clothing and armor were filthy), there was a knock at her door.

"Come in" she called.

It was a page who handed her an invitation to dine with Thranduil and Legolas.

"I will come of course" Ashara said to the page.

 _"Thranduil wants something. And he likely needs me to do it."_

* * *

After the past two months of being around the constant chatter of the dwarves, Ashara had almost forgotten how quiet a meal could get.

Midway through the meal, she asked, " **Aran** Thranduil. You never do anything without reason. What is it you wish of me?"

"I need you to reason with Oakenshield," the King of the Woodland Realm replied.

Ashara laughed at that before saying, "You're serious?"

"I am."

"I hold little favor with Oakenshield. He only relented on me coming along after Gandalf somehow talking him into it," Ashara explained.

She sighed after thinking for a moment, _"Better me than Thranduil attempting to reason with Thorin again!"_ Aloud Ashara said, "I will go to the dungeons, if only to check on the others. I make no promises in regards to Oakenshield. He's the very definition of stubbornness."

Dinner was finished shortly thereafter. Upon returning to her room, Ashara was thankful to see that her armor had been returned and cleaned.

After she finished putting it on except for her helmet, Tauriel was at the door to escort her to the dungeons.

"You're nervous," her escort stated.

"That I am. Not really looking forward to dealing with Oakenshield."

* * *

Tauriel had left her at the dungeon gates and would wait there whilst Ashara dealt with Thorin.

She checked on the dwarves, all of whom seemed to be asleep.

"Lass, is that you?" Relief coursed through Ashara's veins. It was Balin.

"Hello Balin." She could feel the tightness of her slight smile.

"Thranduil sent you down here, didn't he? To have _*you*_ reason with Thorin," the old dwarf asked, mirth clear in his tone.

"He has no idea how unlikely it is I will be able to pull off that feat of daring off," Ashara replied with a genuine smirk.

Balin then asked, "Thorin mentioned that Thranduil told him that you were Lord Elrond's only granddaughter and a princess."

"Thranduil is exaggerating. I am no princess." Ashara took a deep breath before saying, "However, I am Lord Elrond's granddaughter."

"Why didn't you tell us before?"

"At first I did not know any of you that well. And as time wore on, I began to enjoy the anonymity," Ashara explained, hoping Balin would understand.

There were a few moments of silence before Balin replied, "I can understand that. In my books, you've more than proved yourself. Especially in that fight with Azog."

At the moment when Ashara thought that things were going well, a baritone voice joined the conversation, "Lies of omission are still lies... _Princess._ "

Thorin was awake. And she did not know if he'd even been sleeping at all.

 _"Wonderful."_

* * *

"How long have you been listening?" Ashara could feel the blood draining from her face.

"Long enough princess," Thorin snarled in reply.

"Then you know that I am no princess," she replied while narrowing her eyes.

"Perhaps you are also related to Thranduil and forgot to mention it," Thorin snarked.

"No. But I am related to Galadriel of Lothlorien."

"So being an elf witch runs in the family?"

Ashara felt her ears turn red as she replied, "It's certainly better than madness running in the family!"

* * *

Thorin felt his blood boil at the she-elf's latest retort. It was a low blow. So he growled, " **Inbul-hibir fundhamâd-ublag!"**

The elf's eyes flashed as she hissed, "So we're switching to our mother tongues? Very well then you **blodren yrchion** let the games begin!"

* * *

Tauriel winced as the argument got louder. Ashara was switching between Sindarin and Quenya with ease. She had never heard Ashara speak in such a manner.

She had never heard of anyone being able to move the way Ashara was implying. Tauriel doubted it was possible.

* * *

He knew that Ashara's chances of reasoning with Oakenshield were slim and none. Thranduil wondered if the two were aware that they were fast becoming the evening's entertainment.

Thranduil also wondered if either of them knew the backstories of the swords they carried. He suspected not.

* * *

 _"Mahal, what were you thinking with those swords?"_ Balin thought as he listened to Thorin and Ashara snarl poison at each other.

He could not understand what Ashara was saying, but it was quite easy to tell that it was negative.

Balin could understand Thorin perfectly. He was saying things that were not generally said near or to a female.

Ashara was a clear exception!

* * *

Bilbo had nearly jumped out of his skin when the shouting started. He was far from surprised when he recognized the two voices. Thorin and Ashara were at it again.

The elves that he was skirting around were rolling their eyes at the pair's antics.

He even heard one of them mutter, "You'd think they were married the way they're carrying on!"

As Bilbo snuck towards the kitchens, a part of him wondered what they were saying to each other.

 _"Then again, knowing those two, I'm better off not knowing!"_

* * *

Ashara didn't know how long she'd been shouting at Thorin and didn't quite care. She'd had enough.

She stalked out of the dungeon grumbling, "To hell with this!"

* * *

Once Ashara was out of earshot (he hoped) Balin asked, "Thorin did you have to be so insulting? That girl may well have been our ticket out of here!"

Balin didn't like that he could not see Thorin's face. He had a good poker face, but Balin knew a few of Thorin's tells. He added a few moments later, "If you're lucky, she didn't understand a word you said!"

Thorin it seemed was ignoring him.

* * *

Ashara had spent the rest of the night at both the sparring ring and archery range for Thranduil's guards. Several of her sparring partners had left the ring with bruises.

 _"Right now, all I want to do is rest in my room!"_

Unfortunately she ran smack dab into someone, who fell to the floor.

Ashara drew a dagger and snarled, "Who's there? Show yourself!"

"Hold your fire, it's me!" Ashara was surprised to see Bilbo pop into view.

Without further ado, she dragged him into her quarters and barred the door.

* * *

"How in Aule's name have you been able to avoid the guards," she asked as Bilbo wolfed down some bread and venison.

"I have my ways of moving unseen," the hobbit replied evasively.

Ashara rested her eyes for a moment. The evening prior had been exhausting.

"How will we get out of here," Bilbo asked.

Ashara racked her brains for a short time before saying, "In a week, there is a major festival for the Wood Elves: The Feast of Starlight. If there was a time to make a break for it, that would be the time."

"I don't think Thorin will be happy with the wait," Bilbo replied.

"Well, he can go get stuffed!"

* * *

 **A/N 2: The escape will be in the next chapter. As for the argument, if I had written it, most of it would have needed to be censored due to it's content. It was fun to write the viewpoints of four different individuals. Looking forward to hearing what you all think! SSD**

 **Translations:**

 **Sindarin/Quenya**

 **Ta caro ala ista carota?- They don't know, do they?**

 **Ala voro. Inyë caurë ta rato** **mendë.- Not yet. I fear they soon will.**

 **Aran- King**

 **blodren yrchion- arrogant son of an orc**

 **Khuzdul**

 **Imrid amrâd ursul!- Die a fiery death!**

 **kanbûna u nu' durûz!- two faced bitch**

 **Inbul-hibir fundhamâd-ublag!- Pointy-eared lembas muncher.**


	8. There's Something There

**Chapter VIII: There's Something There...**

 **A/N: Here's the December/Christmas update! Thanks go to Blondiezhere! She helps so much. In this chapter certain things start to move forward. At a snail's pace, given the fact that we're dealing with two supremely blockheaded individuals here! Recognized dialogue comes from either the Professor or Jackson. Sindarin and/or Khuzdul will be bolded. Enjoy the chapter! SSD**

* * *

Finally the Feast of Starlight had arrived. Ashara had kept as low a profile as she could. The hustle and bustle of the preparations had helped her in that. She had not spoken with Thranduil since the night she'd dined with him and Legolas.

Bilbo had also been reporting in on his wanderings whenever he could. Always at different times so as to not arouse suspicion.

Ashara had actually _slept_ the night before. She must have needed the sleep.

When she finished up putting on her armor, Ashara heard a familiar knock at the door. Bilbo.

Ashara called out, "Come in."

Once he'd entered the room and shut the door, Bilbo said, "I have an idea of how to get everyone out. But I'm going to need your help."

"Go on."

Bilbo's plan was simple. But it would require her to do a couple of things she didn't like. And a whole lot of luck was needed.

"Have you gone mad?" She asked once they started onto the cellars.

"Do you have a better plan?"

"No."

"Then this is our best bet."

* * *

As she strode into the wine cellar, Ashara flashed her best and most charming smile at the guards. She hoped to any Vala who was listening that this would work.

"So gentlemen, what does it take for a lady to get a drink around here?"

* * *

Thorin had been pleased to see that Bilbo had evaded capture. Still, he wondered, _"Why is the Hobbit taking us further into the depths of this place?"_

They'd found their way into a wine cellar when Kili blurted, "Ashara, what are _you_ doing here?"

"Making sure these guards were well and truly drunk. I'm also leaving with you," the damned she-elf replied with her feet up on the table.

They were at the barrels when Bilbo hissed, "Come on, into the barrels."

Dwalin his back, "They'll find us!"

"No. No. They won't. I promise you, please you must trust me!"

The Company looked at him for further instruction before Thorin said, "Do as he says."

Once he got into his barrel, Thorin noticed that it was conveniently the farthest from the she-elf.

As Bofur clambered into the last free barrel, he asked, "What do we do now?"

The hobbit relied, "Hold your breath." Bilbo then proceeded to pull a lever that dropped the barrels into the water below.

* * *

It didn't take long at all for Ashara to soaked to the skin.

She winced at the sounding of a horn. Their escape had been discovered. If they were caught, she would definitely be thrown in the dungeons.

To make matters even worse, orcs attacked. Ashara managed to pick a few off with her bow.

In the fray, Kili got up out of his barrel to pull the lever that opened the sluice gate. And got shot with an arrow for his troubles. Ashara didn't get a good look at the arrow.

When her barrel fell down from the sluice, Ashara held on for dear life. And was fighting the urge to scream.

Rushing water had been the source of her nightmares and the worst of her enemies for nearly her entire life.

 _"To hell with it,"_ Ashara thought, _"No one is going to hear me scream anyway!"_

* * *

They'd lost the orcs chasing them. But the current had also been lost. To top things off, Kili was wounded.

Thorin took in the state of the Company, counting those he could see. Then he heard Bilbo plead, "Ashara, please come out. It's over now." The hobbit sounded like he was trying to coax a scared child out from under the bed during a thunderstorm.

He turned around as the barrel the elf was in capsized. Moving faster than he had ever done before, Thorin dragged Ashara out of the river, both coughing. Other than the coughing, the she-elf's eyes were haunted and her body rigid.

He'd seen things like this before. Especially in soldiers when they were reminded of things on the battle field that they would rather forget.

Bilbo tried shaking her arm to no avail.

"Ashara. You're on the banks of the river outside of Mirkwood," Thorin said as a way to try and get her back to the present.

It was Bofur who elicited a reaction by saying, "Thorin will kiss you if you don't snap out of it, or maybe I..." he trailed off after a dirty look from Thorin.

Stiffly getting to her feet, Ashara replied, "That will _not_ be necessary." Sitting on the bank, she began to wring her hair dry.

* * *

"You don't like the water do you?" Ashara was not surprised that Thorin was asking the question.

"It's rushing water I don't like. It... Brings unwanted memories the fore in my mind." Ashara shuddered at the memory.

"Would talking about it help?" That was Bilbo.

"I've never really told the story, since most I interact with already know about it. My mother drowned fighting an orc pack when my brother and I were very young."

"If you were so young, how do you know what happened?" Balin asked.

"My great grandmother has this... Device that shows the past, present, and future. though you can't choose which one you see. After I came of age and made my choice, I made a visit to Lothlorien. I foolishly agreed to take a glance in it." Ashara's voice grew tighter as she continued, "I watched my **naneth** die. I felt water as it choked her. I felt her terror as if it were my own. I felt the water again as the current pulled her under..." Ashara shuddered.

After a few moments of silence, she finished up with, "I didn't really notice it at the time, but the mirror showed me my father's reaction. He went berserk. My grandfather and uncle had to tie him to a tree until he regained his senses."

* * *

It seemed that Ashara had more to her than Thorin had previously thought. He'd always believed that elves as emotionless as stone statues. However, the pain in Ashara's eyes as she told the story had been crystal clear.

She interacted with Fili and Kili well. In hindsight, from what little she'd said, Ashara missed her little brother. Her frequent interactions with them were a purely sisterly thing.

 _"Perhaps the jealousy on this count is entirely irrational and out of line. She had shown no romantic interest in either of them. Then why in Mahal's name was I thinking she was? And why would I even care?"_

* * *

Bard still wasn't quite sure it had been a good idea agreeing to help the group that included 13 dwarves, a hobbit, and an elf across the lake.

He'd only really spoken with Bilbo and the white haired dwarf whose name he overheard was Balin.

The elf on the other hand, had not said a word. She (Bilbo had said her name was Ashara) looked decidedly green around the gills.

The blue eyed dwarf who appeared to be in charge asked, "Are you alright?"

"As long as I keep my mouth shut!" Ashara hissed through gritted teeth, turning even greener.

"I did not know that was possible for you to do that," the dwarf said with a smirk on his face and a teasing tone.

Judging by everyone's reactions, this was unusual behavior, as they all looked at him like he had lobsters crawling out his ears!

A few moments later, Bard had to make a sharp turn to avoid some stone ruins. Which had the she-elf bolting for the side of the boat and began retching.

As Bilbo held her hair back, the blue eyed dwarf growled, "What are you trying to do, kill us?"

"I was born and bred on these waters Master Dwarf. If I wanted to kill you, I would not do it here!"

* * *

It was taking everything Ashara had and then some to keep from vomiting in the barrel. And it got even more difficult when the fish got dumped on them.

She began listing the names of the 8 greatest of the Valar: _"Manwë, Varda, Ulmo, Yavanna, Aulë, Mandos, Nienna, and Oromë"_

Ashara kept on saying the names in her mind until she was dumped out of the barrel, sent sprawling out onto the docks.

While she clambered to her feet, Kili said, "You look like **khakhf** Ashara."

Rolling her eyes, she replied, "Gee, you certainly know how to make a girl feel better."

* * *

With Bard's help, the sneaking around was going as well as it could be. Ashara kept her hood up as she would be the one who would attract the most attention with her ears.

"Halt! OI!" A guard yelled.

"Come on move!" Thorin hissed.

"In the name of the Master, stop now!"

 _"Not in this life or the next!"_ Ashara thought as she darted around the stalls to avoid the guards.

4 guards managed to corner the Company, but would likely regret it as they were made short work of by the group.

The townsfolk had been watching the altercation with great interest before noticing another group of guards arriving and scattered. The man at the head of the group, asked "What's going on here? Stay where you are, nobody leave."

Ashara tensed, her hand moving towards her sword.

Bard came to the rescue saying, "Braga your wife would look lovely in this!" He was holding up undergarments.

Ashara was having a hard time suppressing her giggles at Bard's implications that the guard's wife was a good time had by one and all.

"How do you know my wife?"

With a completely innocent look on his face, Bard said, "I know her as well as any man in this town!"

* * *

Once inside his home and after hugging his daughters, Bard said, "Bain, let them in."

Moments later he heard one of the dwarves growl, "If you speak of this to anyone, I'll rip your arms off!"

Then he heard what was likely profanity in one of the elven tongues. Ashara had been particularly peeved about how she would have to get into Bard's home.

Sigrid called out, "Da why are there dwarves and an elf coming out of our toilet?"

"Will they bring us luck?" Tilda asked.

* * *

Ashara was shivering. Every inch of her was soaking wet.

Sigrid handed some clothes to her, Ashara nodded as she took them with thanks.

When the dwarves looked up at her leaving the room, Ashara said, "I can change on my own, thank you very much!"

While she was changing, she heard the dwarves talking about Smaug's attack. Apparently Smaug had a weak spot. Ashara snorted. That would make everyone's lives too much easier. It was likely a tall tale.

Ashara was much happier when she was wearing her usual clothes. She had managed to negotiate with her **haru** that she would only have to wear dresses for special events. So for the most part, she wore a tunic not unlike what the Dunedain rangers wore. Ashara had forgotten how hard it was to get into a dress on her own.

* * *

While she was doing battle with the dress, the dwarves were less than amused with the choice of weapons that Bard had given them. Apparently the good weapons were in the armory and the Master watched it like a hawk.

"The armory is under lock and key and the docks are heavily guarded, you will have to wait until nightfall."

Bard had left the house by the time Ashara returned to the main room. When the dwarves looked at her in the dress she asked "What? I am a female you know!"

* * *

When Bard's children's backs were turned Ashara hissed, "If you're going to attempt to steal from the armory, can it please wait until my armor and clothes dry enough? That should happen by nightfall. I'd be more help to you that way than in a dress!"

* * *

 **A/N 2: And we cut off here. The next chapter will either begin with them being caught by the Master's guards or the morning as they leave from Laketown. Hope you all liked the chapter and Merry Christmas! SSD**

 **Translations:**

 **Sindarin:**

 **Naneth- mother**

 **Haru- grandfather**

 **Khuzdul:**

 **Khakhf- shit**


	9. Run And Run Fast

**Chapter IX: Run. And Run Fast.**

 **A/N: This chapter did *not* want to get written at all! Came in fits and starts. I apologize for the choppiness and the long wait. I will probably go back and fix this at a later time. Recognized dialogue comes from either the Professor or Jackson. Thank you Blondiezhere for her help! Enjoy the chapter! SSD**

* * *

Ashara was stalking down to the Laketown docks in a foul mood. That slimy little **nyarro** had made several rather offensive suggestions before she knocked him to his backside. She didn't have time to do much more than that.

She'd hissed, "You ever come near me again, I'll castrate you in the slowest and most painful way I can think of. I'm 587 years old, I can get _very_ creative!"

Ashara got into the middle of the boat next to Bilbo. She was going to be much happier once they were on solid ground again.

When they were finally rowing across the lake, another thought entered her mind: _"Then again, once we're on the other side, there will be a fire breathing dragon to worry about!"_

* * *

Once the skiff was tied off, Thorin watched as the others disembarked. Dwalin wasted no time in ditching the cloak he'd been given in Laketown.

Thorin hadn't liked the so-called Master of Laketown. But he knew the type. The best strategy to dealing with the type was play to their ego and they'd bend over backwards for you.

Ashara looked especially happy to off the lake. She looked like she was ready to kiss the ground.

Thorin also suspected there was more than one reason that the she-elf was pleased to be off the water and away from Laketown.

* * *

The search for the path to the hidden door was _not_ going well at all.

For all her keen elven eyes could do, Ashara was having difficulty seeing anything out of the ordinary on the rock face. As the dwarves got more and more tense, Bilbo called out, "Over here!"

A smile crossed Thorin's face as he replied, "You have keen eyes Master Baggins."

Once they got to the top, all there was to do was wait for the last light of Durin's Day.

* * *

The last light came and went. No one could understand why the keyhole hadn't shown itself. The dwarves had left the ledge.

Ashara stayed up with Bilbo, who was determined to puzzle out the riddle.

She'd never been much at riddles. Even though she was an elf, she lacked the patience to puzzle them out. Ashara supposed that it was from the side of her that came from the race of Men.

* * *

They'd all forgotten that there was more than one kind of light in the sky. Moonlight was what showed the keyhole.

Thorin and Balin entered first. Ashara decided to wait for the rest of the dwarves to enter. She felt that it was important.

As she entered, Bilbo asked, "What is that?"

"The Arkenstone," Balin explained.

"That is why you are here," Thorin said in addition.

* * *

After Bilbo went down to look for the Arkenstone, the remaining members of the Company went back outside. Balin was watching Thorin like a hawk. Ever since leaving Lake Town, he had not been acting like himself.

Balin _really_ wanted to be wrong about the reason as to why.

When he finished talking with Thorin, Balin looked over the company. They were all milling about, with Dwalin being on guard.

Ashara seemed to be staring out over the lake. Balin didn't want to wake her up if she was using the open eyed sleep.

He was about to reach to shake her awake when the ground itself shook. Ashara was on her feet in moments.

Ori asked, "What was that?"

"That, my lad, was a dragon."

* * *

Ashara wondered how Bilbo was doing, since it sounded like Smaug was _definitely_ awake. Bilbo was a smooth talker however, and it was common knowledge that dragons loved to be flattered. The hobbit would likely be able to keep Smaug busy for a good while.

"Come on. We're going in."

* * *

They'd come at a good time. Smaug was no longer amused by Bilbo's flattery.

"Flee. Flee. Run for your lives!" Smaug crooned out as he chased them. When he saw Ashara, the dragon called out,

"I smell an elf. It's been _such_ a long time since I've eaten one!"

Ashara snarled back"That won't be changing anytime soon, dragon!"

Thorin barely managed to yank her out of the way of a ball of fire. Ashara brushed herself off a bit saying, "Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

* * *

After running through the maze that were the tunnels of Erebor, they finally managed to get to the forges.

"This plan's not going to work. These furnaces are stone cold, we've no fire hot enough to set them ablaze," Balin called out.

A growl echoed around them, Ashara noticed that Thorin had a gleam in his eyes as he said, "Have we not?" She wasn't sure she was going to like what he had in mind.

"I did not think to see you so easily outwitted! You have grown slow and fat in your dotage... slug!" He was baiting Smaug!

"Take cover!" At Thorin's order Ashara shot towards one of the columns before Smaug let loose.

Smaug's fire breath was more than hot enough to set the forges alight.

Ashara thought, _"Not bad!"_

"Bombur get those bellows working!" Thorin was in his element. Smaug was busy trying (and succeeding) at smashing the columns.

"Bilbo, up there, pull that lever!" He was doing his best to get Bilbo out of the line of fire.

"Balin can you still make some flashflame?" Ashara was also trying to get out of Smaug's line of sight while helping the other dwarves do the same. She had no desire to get cooked.

"Aye, it'll only take a jiffy," Balin replied as he went off collecting the rest of dwarves.

"We don't have a jiffy," Dwalin muttered as he went off after his brother.

"And what can I do," Ashara asked when she, Thorin, and Bilbo were the last ones left in the room.

"You and I are going to be bait for Smaug."

"Oh goody!"

No sooner had she finished saying that, Smaug broke through the columns. Once he saw the two of them, the fire drake made his way towards them, they both shouted, "BILBO NOW!"

A deluge of water soon hit Smaug, cooling him down before he could cook either of them.

"Nice plan. Can we get out of here before he recovers his ability to breath fire?" Ashara gave Thorin a sidelong glance.

"The plan is to get to the Gallery of the Kings."

* * *

"Over here you witless worm!" Thorin called out.

"You..." Smaug sneered.

"I am taking back what you stole!"

"You will take nothing from me, dwarf! I laid low your warriors of old. I instill terror in the hearts of Men! _I_ am King Under the Mountain!" Smaug hissed.

"This is not your kingdom! These are dwarf lands, this is dwarf gold, and we _will_ have our revenge! **Khazâd ai-mênu!"**

With that, the parts of the mold fell away to reveal the golden statue. Thorin came away from it via a chain pully.

Smaug was completely hypnotized by the gold. _"Maybe this will work,"_ he thought as the statue melted due to not being in the mold long enough, puling Smaug underneath the wave.

Briefly, it seemed that the plan had worked.

 _"This is too easy!"_

As soon as that thought finished, Smaug burst up from under the pool of gold, shouting, "REVENGE?! REVENGE?! I WILL SHOW YOU REVENGE!"

* * *

 **A/N 2: And now, we are done with Desolation of Smaug. The events of BotFA are about to begin. Apologies for the long wait. SSD**

 **Sindarin:**

 **nyarro- rat.**

 **Khuzdul:**

Khazâd ai-mênu!- The dwarves are upon you!


	10. Malta Caila

**Chapter X: Malta Caila**

 **A/N: Apologies for the long wait. There were some difficulties. Anything that is recognize belongs to the Professor and Peter Jackson. I hope the chapter is worth the wait. There is one use of a choice word that begins with the sixth letter of the alphabet. Enjoy! SSD**

* * *

 _This is a mess of unforeseen proportions. Then again **haru** thought it might happen. Why didn't Gandalf stick around?_

At the moment, Ashara wasn't quite sure what she'd do the next time she saw the wizard. Yes, the Mountain had been taken. Yes, Smaug was now dead, via a Black Arrow that someone (likely Bard, given what she suspected about his lineage) must have hidden for all this time. Was it worth it, with Laketown destroyed, and an inconveniently timed bout of **malta caila** from Thorin.

Gandalf should have listened to her grandfather, who likely wanted to be wrong about his fears. But the Istar usually did what he wanted.

Shouts interrupted her dark thoughts. They were four very familiar voices that Ashara was ecstatic to hear: Fili, Kili, Bofur, and Oin were alive and well.

Perhaps the presence of his nephews would snap Thorin back to his usual self.

* * *

Several hours later (at least that was what she thought, it was hard for her to tell the time without the sun) Ashara found herself in Erebor's library. The rest of the Company was searching the horde for the Arkenstone. It seemed that Thorin did not want her near the horde, so he had her looking for information about the Arkenstone itself.

Though it took some time, Ashara found some relevant books that were also in Common Tongue. She also found a book she wasn't expecting to find: A romance novel.

Against her better judgement, she removed the book from the shelf.

 _I could use some mindless entertainment._

* * *

The Arkenstone still had not been found, despite near constant searching.

After being badgered by Balin into taking some rest, Thorin found himself walking towards a place he should have spent more time in before Smaug took Erebor: the library.

He was surprised to see Ashara there. There were some rather large books that she'd obviously finished reading. Thorin then remembered that he'd ordered her there to search for information.

The she-elf was completely absorbed in whatever she was reading.

"Enjoying the book?"

He got some amusement when Ashara about jumped out of her skin, moved faster than he'd ever seen her move, and put the book back on the shelf, well out of his reach. The tips of her ears were pinker than normal.

"Is there anything you need," she asked.

"Did you find out any new information?"

"Nothing beyond what you all have told me about, I was taking a break before looking for more books," Ashara replied.

* * *

The meeting with Bard had *not* gone well. Thorin was not his usual self.

Bilbo had gone for a walk on the ramparts. As he sat down, something Smaug said flashed through his mind.

 _"I am almost tempted to let you take it, if only to see Oakenshield suffer. Watch it destroy him, watch it corrupt his heart, and drive him mad!"_

He reached into his inside coat pocket and took out the Arkenstone that he'd managed to grab when Smaug had tried to roast him.

 _It's hard to believe the fuss over so small a thing._

Bilbo was so focused on the Arkenstone, he jumped when he heard Ashara hiss "Are you mad? Put that thing away before someone sees it!"

Shoving it back into his pocket, he turned around to face the elf, who's eyes were the size of serving plates.

"Ashara, I can explain everything..." he started before she cut him off.

"I'm sure you can Bilbo. But it could have been Thorin, not me right now. And in his present state of mind, do you think he would bother listening to you trying to explain?!" Ashara's voice was low and almost sounded panicked to Bilbo's ears.

"What is going on with Thorin?"

"Gold sickness. What he's always feared." She then whispered, "Does anyone else know or suspect you have it?"

"Balin. I didn't directly say I had it. He suggested that perhaps it was best it remained lost," Bilbo explained.

"With that as his opinion, he will keep his mouth shut. Now we need a plan. And a heavy dose of luck from the Valar."

With that, Ashara took Bilbo and scurried off to her quarters, where they could talk in private about the plan.

They needed to hurry, as there was an army of Woodland elves outside.

* * *

Ashara's heart was in her throat as Bilbo put aside his jacket (with the Arkenstone in a pocket) to put on Thorin's gift of a mithril shirt.

 _Hopefully no one tells Bilbo of the fact the armored shirt he's wearing is worth more than the Shire!_

She did her able best to tune out Thorin's conversation with Bilbo concerning the potential disloyalty of the other dwarves. While doing that, Ashara looked over the armor they were all wearing. It made her own armor look flimsy by comparison.

 _I rely on speed to fight. My armor is best for my method of fighting. So my armor would be lighter._

It didn't mean her armor couldn't take a hit. Her **adar** was understandably worried about that, as it had been a lucky hit that had gotten her mother into the river.

Ashara ran her hand across Lightbringer's hilt. The sword seemed to be humming with unspent energy, as if was coming alive for the fight that was to come.

"Lady Ashara, a word," Thorin barked out.

Not wasting any time, Ashara nimble moved through the armory. She doubted that Thorin was in the mood to waste any time.

When she got up to him, he began with, "I know you lost a few of your daggers during the... delay in the Woodland Realm. Here is a suitable replacement."

Ashara took a look at her new dagger after she took it out of its sheath. It was a bit heavier than what she was used to. It also had a wider blade of darkened steel with Khuzdul runes etched onto it. There was also a yellow gemstone set into the pommel.

 _Reasonably well balanced. I could throw it if I had to._

"Thank you, **mellon.** "

"What does that mean," Thorin asked.

"It means friend."

Thorin didn't seem to know what to do with her statement, but gruffly said, "Stay safe" as he left the armory.

 _Where in Aulë's name did that come from? Why would he be concerned for my safety?_

* * *

Unknown to both Thorin and Ashara, they had not been alone in armory.

Bofur had gone back to get an axe for Bifur. He had _not_ expected to see Thorin and Ashara interacting. The two of them had been behaving oddly around each other since the escape from Mirkwood. He had an inkling of what it might be leading to.

It was the little things. Their mannerisms (especially Thorin's, he had a lot of trouble reading the elf's expressions) were telling.

Bofur had never thought that an elf could match a dwarf for stubbornness. Ashara was starting to prove him wrong.

* * *

 _They must not be seen_ Bilbo repeated in his head as he and Ashara skirted around the patrolling dwarves. If Thorin caught them... Bilbo shuddered and made a gesture against evil.

He figured that Ashara would likely be able to fight her way out of such a situation. But he would likely be a distraction to her.

While on the face of it, her leaving behind the good elven armor may sound like madness, it was a part of the plan. Her part of it to be precise, which he had a great deal of misgivings over the specifics. However it was the only plan they had.

Once they got to the ledge of what had once been Erebor's front gates, Bilbo began tying the rope to the ring. As he finished up, a familiar voice called out, "You two should be inside. Out of the wind.

 _Thank you Yavanna, it's Bofur_ , Bilbo thought before stammering, "We, uh.. needed some air. Still stinks of dragon."

Bofur looked like he didn't quite believe them, but did not contradict Bilbo as he looked out over the ramparts. He spoke again, "The elves are moving their archers into position. The battle will be over by tomorrow's eve. Though I doubt we will live to see it."

"If Thranduil has his way, none of us will be shown much mercy," Ashara said.

"These are... dark days," Bilbo couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Dark days indeed. No one could blame a soul for wishing they were somewhere else," Bofur was looking at them with a speculative glint in his eyes. Even a fool would know what he was implying.

But before either of them could speak to contradict him, he said, "It must be near midnight. Bombur's got the next watch. It'll take a bit to wake him" and began to walk down the stairs.

"Bofur, we **will** see you in the morning," Bilbo replied firmly.

The dwarf nodded, and went on his way.

Once his footsteps had faded, Ashara turned to Bilbo, "Now that we are done with that, come on. We've got a lot to do in not a lot of time. I'll go down first."

She made the climb down look easy to Bilbo. But once he started his way down, he only slipped once.

* * *

For the past several months, he'd been feeling the pull North again. However unlike the other times, until he'd actually started back up that way, the Dunedain had been unable to sleep.

Not that Soren slept that much anyways. Nightmares still plagued him of his burned out village, even 15 years later. He'd been to the east of the Misty Mountains before, but not this far north.

It was now, at the end of November, that his final destination came into view. The ruins of Dale seemed to have come alive, mostly due to an army of what appeared to be Woodland elves. He'd heard rumors on the road that Smaug had been killed and that the dwarves had retaken Erebor. Soren didn't put much stock in rumors, but those two seemed to be true at least.

As he made his way into the camp, he heard an only too familiar voice. It was Gandalf.

"You, Bowman. Do you agree with this? Is gold so important to you? Would you buy it with the blood of dwarves?"

The wizard must have seen him out of the corner of his eye when he called out, "Soren son of Conall, where in the blazes have you been?"

"South, as you well know. Do you think I came up this way for the fucking scenery?"

"It will not come to that. This is a fight they cannot win!" The bowman replied.

Before the wizard could reply, an out of breath voice called out, "That won't stop them. You think the dwarves will surrender, they won't they will fight to the death to defend their own." It was a hobbit and with him was...

"Ashara what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing, **mellon iaur** "

* * *

"If I am not mistaken this is the Halfling who stole the keys to my dungeon from under the nose of my guards," Thranduil growled.

Bilbo said the only thing he could really say, "Yes... Sorry about that."

Ashara then snickered, "Well your guards were drunk while on duty. Made it much easier."

 _You're not helping Ashara_ , Bilbo groaned in his head before saying, "I came to give you this."

The Arkenstone certainly got everyone in the tent's attention. The elf king and Bard came to their feet.

"The Heart of the Mountain" Thranduil breathed "The King's Jewel."

"And worth a King's ransom," Bard added before asking, "How is this yours to give?"

"I took it as my 14th share of the treasure," Bilbo replied.

He noticed that the Man he did not recognize grin at that. Gandalf did as well.

"Why would you do this? You owe us no loyalty," Bard queried.

"I'm not doing it for you. I know the dwarves can be obstinate, pig-headed, difficult, suspicious, secretive, with the worst manners you can possibly imagine, but they are also brave, kind, and loyal to a fault," Bilbo paused to catch his breath before continuing, "I've grown very fond of them, and I would save them if I can. Now Thorin values this stone above all else. In exchange for it's return, I believe he will give you what you are owed. There will be no need for war."

"And what is your part in this plan _Lady_ Ashara," Thranduil asked.

"That's simple really: I am going to be the one taking the fall for the theft of the Arkenstone.

* * *

 _I have their attention now_

Ashara continued with "There will need to be an explanation for how the Arkenstone came to me in your hands. It was stolen yes, but we need for Oakenshield to think that it was not Bilbo that did it." Turning towards the hobbit who had become a friend she said, "No offense Bilbo, but if it came to a fight, I would not place any bets on you lasting long at all."

"None taken," the hobbit replied.

"Is he really that far gone," Bard asked.

"Oakenshield is not himself. I would rate that the gold fever has nearly consumed his mind," Ashara replied. She knew she was not looking anyone in the eye at that statement.

"So you are basically using yourself as bait," Soren bit out with narrowed eyes.

"That would be correct," Turning towards Bard, she asked, "I will need to visit the armory to find armor for myself."

"What makes you think we are going along with this," Thranduil asked.

Feeling Soren's eyes boring into her, Ashara replied, "Like I said to Bilbo: It's the best one we've got."

* * *

 **A/N 2: Soren is a character that I have been waiting to introduce for a long time. Picture him as Jerome Flynn in his performance as Bronn in Game of Thrones. Looking forward to hearing what you all think. Oh and Happy Friday the 13th! SSD**

 **Time for translations...**

 **Sindarin/Quenya**

 **malta caila- gold sickness**

 **haru- grandfather**

 **adar- father**

 **mellon- friend**

 **mellon iaur- old friend**


	11. And So It Begins

**Chapter XI: And So it Begins...**

 **A/N: This is the fastest I've ever finished a chapter for this story. I was on a roll. Again, I apologize for Soren and Ashara's moments of foul language. Nothing ever happened or will happen between Soren and Ashara. Their relationship is only that of close siblings. Bold is elvish or Gandalf shouting at Thorin. Bolded italics is Ashara understanding the Black Speech. Thank you Blondiezhere for your help! Enjoy the chapter! SSD**

* * *

"What the fuck are you thinking, using yourself as bait?" Soren growled the moment they were in the armory and well out of earshot.

"Would you bet any money on Bilbo lasting long in a fight against a heavily armored, highly skilled, gold mad dwarf?" Ashara shot back. She could almost feel her eyes flashing.

"You aren't doing this just to protect the hobbit. I'll grant that you're a talented liar, but even after 15 years, I still know you better than anyone in that tent," her friend hissed back.

"I told no lies in Thranduil's tent," Ashara muttered back. There were some people from Laketown in the armory now, including the **nyarro** that had used to work for the former Master.

 _Such a shame that Bard didn't let him get strung up when he had the chance_ Absorbed in her thoughts, Ashara almost missed what Soren said next.

"Aye, you did not. But you weren't telling the whole truth."

"What in Eru's name are you talking about," Ashara whispered.

Soren sauntered over. The smirk on his face told her that he was about to say something that he found amusing. "Don't think I didn't notice that crimson flush that came to your cheeks when you were discussing our resident mad king. You have feelings for the bloody dwarf."

Despite her best efforts, it felt like flames licked her skin from her neck to the tips of her ears.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Ashara replied as she continued her search for armor.

"Oh I think you do. The only person in the room you're fooling right now is yourself," Soren snickered before also continuing his search for armor.

* * *

After _finally_ finding armor that would fit the both of them, Soren had forced her to eat some hearty venison stew and several slices of bread. When she finished, Ashara went looking for Bilbo.

She found him sitting on his cot. Looing up at her he said, "You braided your hair."

"It'll be easier that way to keep it under the helmet," she replied sitting down next to him.

They were silent for a while before Bilbo blurted, "I still don't like your part of the plan."

"Now that you have brought it up, there is something I need to say: No matter *what* Thorin says, in Khuzdul or Westron, do not react to it or reveal yourself to be the thief! " Ashara was looking directly in his eyes.

"But..." the hobbit began before she cut him off again saying, "No buts. Do I have your word, Bilbo?"

Bilbo nodded, clearly unhappy.

"You should head back to the mountain. Before anyone notices you're missing. Good luck **mellon nin**." She hugged the hobbit.

Once Bilbo was out of earshot, Ashara said, "I don't want you reacting to what he says either Soren."

The Ranger slunk out of the shadows with a "Who me" look before drawling, "I won't make any promises, but I will do my best. You're like my sister, and no one insults my sister and gets away with it."

Ashara smiled at that. "So much of this relies on chance," she said as she tracked Bilbo through the No Man's Land.

"Aye, and the hope that none of the dwarves realize that you were never near that horde," Soren replied.

* * *

The elven army was lined up in perfect formation. A part of Thorin appreciated a well disciplined army.

The larger part of him however, only seethed at the presence of elves at his doorstep. Looking up and down the line, Thorin still did not see the only elf that was welcome in Erebor.

Thranduil and Bard were riding up with a guard on either side. The armor the guards were wearing were of Dalish make.

Just as they got close enough, he shot an arrow so that it would hit the ground at the hooves of the elf king's steed.

"I will put the next one between your eyes!" Thorin called out. The rest of the Company began cheering.

Of course the cheering stopped when at a signal from their liege, the archers prepared for a volley.

Sounding like he was enjoying himself far too much, the point ear said, "We've come to tell you. Payment of your debt has been offered. And accepted."

"What payment? I gave you nothing! You have nothing!"

Thorin didn't like the look Thranduil gave Bard. And he was right when the Man reached into his jacket and said "We have this". It was the Arkenstone.

"They have the Arkenstone," Kili breathed, but Thorin wasn't really paying attention. All that mattered was the Arkenstone.

It almost seemed to be speaking to him. And he kept on trying to understand.

"And the king may have it, with our goodwill," Bard said to Kili as he tossed the stone into the air before putting it back in his pocket. "But first he must honor his word.

Thorin couldn't believe it was the real think. He growled, "They're taking us for fools. This is a ruse, a filthy lie. The Arkenstone is in this mountain, it is a trick."

"It's not a trick."

* * *

 _It's showtime_ Ashara thought as she removed her helmet before saying, "The stone is real, I gave it to them."

It was could that she couldn't see Bilbo as that might blow the game early. She hoped he kept his mouth shut.

Thorin seemed to be blindsided by her supposed betrayal, his eyes were wide. She couldn't help but snark, "Thorin Oakenshield rendered speechless. Surely that must be a sign of the end of days?"

 _That_ snapped him out of it, and Thorin started yelling at her in Khuzdul.

"I'm not sure what he's saying, but I'm pretty sure it's negative," Soren hissed as he nudged his horse towards the other side of her horse.

Before she could do more than glare at Soren to keep his mouth shut, Thorin sneered, but in Westron, "You likely did not understand a word of what I said, did you?"

"That would be correct **Aran nu i Orod**. Though I can hazard a guess that my ancestry was questioned along with suggesting that I commit unnatural acts with farm animal?" Ashara knew she had her scary smile on her face.

"I should have known better than to trust an elven whore much less one who is descended from a witch," Thorin snarled.

Ashara noticed that Soren was gripping his sword so tight, his knuckles were white in his effort not to respond to Thorin's insults. Even she was starting to have trouble biting her tongue, especially when he called her a whore.

The focus had to be kept on her. And it was working so far.

* * *

Fili had been shocked when Ashara had come forward as the thief. He racked his memories as to whether she'd been near the horde.

Coming up short, he asked, "How could you have gotten the Arkenstone Ashara? You were never anywhere near the horde."

He got his answer in the form of blood draining from her face, making her even paler than usual.

* * *

 _FOOL OF A DURIN! Couldn't Fili keep his mouth shut?_ Ashara mentally groaned. Nothing left to do now than to try and still keep Bilbo out of it.

"So... You are not the thief yourself. You care for them," Thorin sneered before continuing, "Now that your game is up you will tell who thief is."

"Now... why would I do that? As you said, I care fore them. What could possibly make me want to betray a friend for a pile of gold? **Lennapuitho intyë**!" Ashara stretched in the saddle.

Soren started to laugh, but quickly turned it into a cough. She did not dare look in Bard and Thranduil's direction. Bard would not understand what she said, but Thranduil and his army definitely would.

Thorin was definitely not amused at all. "I am the king, you will tell me what you know!"

"One, you're not *my* king. Two, anyone who has to say that, is no real king," Ashara shot back through gritted teeth.

Before Thorin could snarl anything back, "Will you two just shut up? I'm the one who took the Arkenstone!"

"BILBO NO!"

* * *

Thorin was far from surprised it turned out Bilbo had been the one to take it. The she-elf would stick her neck for the shire rat no matter what. He noticed the Man sitting on the horse to her immediate left. They seemed... Close.

The hobbit said, "I took it as my 15th share of the treasure."

"You would steal from me," he hissed in reply.

"Steal from you? No. I may be a burglar, but I like to think I'm an honest one," the hobbit replied before saying in an obvious attempt to calm him, "I'm willing to let it stand against my claim."

"Your claim? You have claim over nothing," Thorin snarled.

"I was going to give it to you. Many times I wanted to but..." the halfling seemed lost for words before shooting back with, "You have changed Thorin. The dwarf I met in Bag-End would never had gone back on his word, never doubted the loyalty of his kin!"

"Do not speak to me, of loyalty," he growled back before shouting "Throw him from the ramparts!"

None of his comrades moved or made a sound. The only noise was the clang against his armor. Looking down, Thorin saw that it was the dagger that he'd given to the bloody she-elf.

When she realized that she had his attention, Ashara began to say something in one of the elven tongues. Judging by the reactions of the Man to her left and Thranduil, it wasn't complimentary.

Since none of the others moved to do his bidding, Thorin yelled, "I will do it myself!" and yanked Bilbo towards the edge.

"Cursed be the wizard who brought you into this Company!"

 **"IF YOU DON'T LIKE MY BURGLAR, RETURN HIM TO ME!"**

In his shock, Thorin loosened his grip on Bilbo who'd shot off.

* * *

Once Bilbo got down and scampered towards the army of elves, someone yanked him up on by the scruff of the neck onto their horse. It was Ashara.

"As much as I want to strangle you for revealing yourself, I'm happier you're alive." Ashara's smirk was more of a grimace.

"What did you say to Thorin when you threw that dagger at him?" Bilbo knew it was definitely negative.

"If we survive this day, I will tell you *exactly* what I said to him," his friend replied.

Ashara's friend Soren piped in, "Though you'll be happier not knowin!"

"Give us your answer. Will you have peace or war?" Bard had a pleading tone in his voice.

Before Thorin could answer, a raven alighted on the ramparts and seemed to be speaking to him.

"I will have war," Thorin replied with a satisfied smile, looking to the East.

Glancing in the same direction, Bilbo heard the sound of marching.

Gandalf muttered, "Ironfoot." It seems that the playing field had been evened up, with the dwarven reinforcements.

Thranduil shouted a command in elvish, and his army marched in the direction of the new threat.

Bilbo was also pleased to notice that Ashara and Soren were sticking with the refugees from Laketown.

* * *

 _I should not be surprised that Thorin called for backup. He may be completely insane at the moment, but even in his twisted mind he knew that he couldn't hold onto the Mountain without help,_ Ashara thought as she observed the armaments of the Iron Hills dwarves.

"Where did they get all of those magnificent toys," Soren drawled.

"Wouldn't want to be on the wrong end of those war chariots," she replied.

Bilbo asked, "Who is that? He doesn't look very happy."

"It is Dain, Lord of the Iron Hills. Thorin's cousin," Gandalf answered.

"Are they alike?"

"I've always found Thorin to be the more reasonable of the two," Gandalf replied.

The other three shuddered at that.

After signaling to his army to stop, Dain called out, "Good morning. How are we all? I've got a wee proposition if you wouldn't mind givin' me a few moments of yer time."

Ashara suspected that his proposition would not be to anyone's liking.

"Would you consider... JUST SODDING OFF! ALL OF YOU, RIGHT NOW!"

As the people of Laketown flinched, Bard ordered, "Stand fast!"

"Come now, Lord Dain," Gandalf walked up.

"I doubt even Gandalf's silver tongue, can stop this fight from happening," Soren whispered.

"Gandalf the Grey. Tell this rabble to leave, or I'll water the ground with their blood!" Gandalf had his work cut out for him with Dain.

"There is no need for war between dwarves, men, and elves. A legion of orcs march on the Mountain, stand your army down!"

 _That's not going to happen_ , Ashara thought.

"I will not stand down before any elf. Not least this faithless woodland sprite. He wishes nothing but ill upon my people. If he chooses to stand between me and my kin, I'll split his pretty head open! See if he's still smirking then!" Dain wheeled his war pig back towards his troops.

"He's clearly mad, like his cousin!" Thranduil was not helping matters.

"You hear that lads? We're on! Let's give these bastards a good hammering!"

Before the armies before Erebor could do more than prepare, a rumbling began to emanate from the ground.

"What the bloody hell is that!" Soren was having trouble controlling his horse. Ashara's horse also spooked a bit at the sound.

"Wereworms," Gandalf whispered as the subterranean beasts burst forth.

"Oh come on," Dain groaned.

An only too familiar voice roared, _**"Come forth my Armies!"**_

Orcs streamed out from the holes made by the wereworms.

"The hordes of hell are upon us! Battle, Battle Sons of Durin!" Dain ordered as he rode along with part of his army to form a shield wall.

"The elves. will they not fight," Bilbo queried.

"I know at least one elf who'll fight," Ashara muttered.

Just before the orcs hit the shield wall, elves leaped over it and into combat.

Any conflict between elves and dwarves would have to wait for another day.

* * *

"All of you, fall back to Dale, NOW!" Bard ordered when a flanking force of orcs headed towards Dale.

They barely got to the ruined city ahead of the orcs.

"My children, where are my children," he was hoping that they still lived.

An old woman called out, "I saw them down in the old market."

 _The old market? Where are they now?_ Bard wondered before he called out "Tilda? Sigrid?"

"Bard! Orcs are storming over the causeways," an old city guard called out.

To him Bard said, "Get the bowmen to the Eastern parapet. Hold them off as long as you can."

After hearing that the market had been overrun, he said, "The rest of you, follow me!"

Bard hadn't been fighting long before he heard Tilda scream out "DA!" He saw Sigrid and Bain with her. His children were alive, at the present moment.

Noticing a rather large goblin coming towards them, he righted an old cart sent it barreling towards them.

"Bain, Sigrid, GET DOWN!"

On the final bounce, Bard propelled himself and his sword into the goblin.

* * *

"Glad to see me now?" Soren shouted.

"Just like old times!" his best and most clever friend shouted back as she laid into a squad of orcs with Lightbringer, which had an eerie white glow.

He had been providing her ranged support, but soon ran out of arrows.

Now they were fighting side by side, killing every orc they could reach. Orcs were now starting to avoid their blades. Now the beasts were showing some cunning and started using their archers to try and pick him and Ashara off.

He and Ashara were fast, but even they were starting to have trouble dodging the arrows. Soon they were pinned down in an old blacksmith shop by three squads of orcs.

 _We're good, but neither of us are that good!_

Before the two of them could charge, the squads were blasted away by Gandalf.

"Come on, things are not going in our favor. We need to head to the Great Hall," the Istar urged.

As they took off at a run, Soren thought, _I'm not much of a praying man Eru, but can you get us some damned help?_

* * *

 **A/N 2: Had to split the battle into two chapters. Next chapter is when things start to diverge from canon. I've figured out how I'll save Fili, Kili, and Thorin. Looking forward to seeing what you think!**

 **Sindarin/Quenya Translations:**

 **nyarro- rat**

 **Aran nu i Orod- King Under the Mountain**

 **Lennapuitho intyë- I'm not exactly going to say what this means, but it's definitely negative.**


	12. War Makes Corpses of Us All

**Chapter XII: War Makes Corpses of Us All**

 **A/N: Battle part 2. Not the easiest chapter I've written but not the hardest either. Russian is the stand in for Black Speech. Recognized dialogue belongs to the Professor or Peter Jackson. This will be where canon diverges. Enjoy the chapter, SSD!**

* * *

 _What have I done?_

The days and hours flashed through Thorin's mind: Nearly murdering Bilbo, doubting his kin, thinking that the gold was more important than anything else, and ignoring that Dain and his soldiers needed reinforcements and quickly.

First he had to apologize to his kin that were still in the mountain. Then find some way to turn the tide of the battle. After all that, provided he was still alive, he needed to find Bilbo and Ashara and apologize to them for his despicable behavior. The she-elf had made some rather good guesses as to what he'd said to her. What he'd said to her was inexcusable.

* * *

There was barely time to catch their breath. As Gandalf, Soren, Ashara, and he paused for a moment. They soon heard a deep horn blowing.

It was coming from... "Thorin" Bilbo murmured.

There was a ruin of a parapet that gave the four an excellent view of the battlefield.

"The dwarves, they're rallying," he said.

"They're rallying to their king," Gandalf replied with a smile.

Bilbo chanced a glance at the other two. Both had scary smiles on their faces, though Ashara's was scarier.

* * *

"How do you plan to fight your way single handedly to Ravenhill" Dain asked, looking at him like he was still mad.

Thorin glanced back as he saw Balin, Dwalin, Fili, and Kili ride up on a war chariot.

"You know it's been a while since I've done this," Balin groused.

"TO RAVENHILL!" Thorin shouted.

"Hold tight lads" Balin instructed.

As he rode off, Thorin heard Dain say, "You're all mad bastards! I like it!"

* * *

 _Things finally seemed to be going our way or at least better,_ Ashara thought.

As Lightbringer shed more and more orc blood, she noticed that it seemed to glow brighter and brighter.

"Do you know why you're sword is doing that? It's drawing more orcs towards us," Soren shouted as they fought their way back towards Gandalf and Bilbo.

"I have no idea," she replied.

Once they came level with the Istar, Legolas and Tauriel arrived. A flurry of orcs fell to the ground.

The elf prince said to the wizard, "There is a second army. Bolg leads a force of Gundabad orcs. They are almost upon us!"

"Gundabad…" Gandalf mused before snarling, "This was their plan all along. Azog engages our forces and Bolg sweeps in from the North."

As much as Ashara loathed Azog, she had to admit that it was a sound plan.

"Where is the North?" Bilbo spluttered.

"Ravenhill" the Istar replied.

"Ravenhill? Thorin is up there!" the hobbit blurted.

"What in Morgoth's name is he doing up there!?" Ashara couldn't help but snarl.

"As Gandalf put it, he's cutting off the head of the snake. Fili, Kili, and Dwalin are with him," Bilbo replied.

She cast a sidelong glance at Soren who groaned, "The things I do for you **selar nín.** I know that look."

"Where are you going Ashara?" Bilbo asked.

"To Ravenhill. Stay close to Gandalf if possible.

Before leaving for where Soren and her had stashed the horses she asked, "Legolas, Orcrist isn't working for you is it?"

"How- What makes you think that?"

"I have Lightbringer."

* * *

It was quiet on Ravenhill. Too quiet.

"Where is he?" Kili asked.

Thorin glanced upwards. Azog's command post was seemingly abandoned.

"It looks abandoned, I think Azog has fled," his younger nephew said.

"I don't think so," Thorin muttered before saying "Fili take your brother. Scout out the towers. Keep low and out of sight. If you see something, report back. DO. NOT. ENGAGE. Do you understand?"

Dwalin cut in with "We have company". The goblins were approaching and fast.

"No more than 100. We'll take care of them. Go!" Thorin ordered his nephews.

* * *

After cutting their way through entirely too many orcs, Ashara and Soren barely managed to get north of Ravenhill unseen. Once they got to a good vantage point, they dismounted their horses and hid them.

"So what now?" Soren asked.

"We wait for an opportune moment," Ashara replied as she looked out over the ice growling **"Rhaich!"**

Her ranger friend took a look at what she'd seen before replying, "Well that is a potential cluster for your dwarf king."

"Think you could make the shot?" Ashara queried.

Soren's only reply was to give her the bird before drawing an arrow from his quiver. He'd found a nearly full one off an elf corpse. It wasn't like the soldier was going to need it.

* * *

He could not do anything but watch as Fili was held captive by Azog right in front of him.

 _ **"Tak zakanchivayetsya liniya Durina."**_

 _Dis, I am so sorry._

Before Azog could do anything, an arrow hit him in the shoulder, giving Fili a short window to get free of the Pale Orc's clutches. Which his oldest nephew made good use of.

 _ **"Liniya Dyurina nakhoditsya pod moyey zashchitoy!"**_ A very familiar voice snarled across the ice.

While the person still had a helmet on, there was no mistaking the blazing white glow of the sword.

It was Ashara. Someone else had to be with her, probably that Man from earlier.

All hell broke loose a short time later.

* * *

With the unexpected but very welcome arrival of Legolas, Soren and he were able to set up a gauntlet of arrows picking of orcs or driving them towards the swords of those that were on the ice.

 _This is almost too easy now_ , Soren thought. _I hope Ashara doesn't do anything stupid._

* * *

Goblin corpses were everywhere. Many had come right at Ashara with Lightbringer in her hand. Others fell over the side of the cliff trying to get away from her.

Once she finished with the last of them, panic rose in her mind as when she saw Thorin without a sword and an orc bearing down on him.

Before she could do anything, Orcrist had been thrown into the orc's chest. As Thorin got ahold of it, Lightbringer gave a slight hum.

Brushing it off, she gave Thorin a nod. There was but one orc left on the ice.

And they would deal with Azog together.

* * *

Ignoring the horns of the approaching orc army, Thorin was pleased that he had a fellow master of the blade at this side.

Any further thoughts were cast aside as they both ducked Azog's flail, with Ashara managing to slice Azog in the side. He managed his own hit a short time later when the orc overextended himself with the flail.

They both had to be careful. Every time Azog missed them and hit the ice, which despite its thickness in some areas, was starting to crack.

* * *

With a few more hits to the ice, she and Thorin were barely keeping their balance on the ice, Ashara skidded over to the other side to keep Thorin and herself above water.

Dodging Azog's rock was getting harder and harder. Especially since she wanted to stay dry and Thorin likely did as well.

She should have realized that her luck would run out eventually today. She'd been pushing it.

Thorin had been knocked off his feet by Azog with a low swing and had caught both of her legs despite trying to avoid it.

With a yank and a flick, the pale orc flung her through the air. Dazed, Ashara couldn't move in time to avoid the column that Azog had managed to knock free and it landed on her legs. It rolled off her, but the damage had been done. The blinding pain told Ashara that her legs were broken.

The pain made her black out, despite her best efforts.

* * *

While the flail could cause significant damage, it was quite the unwieldy weapon.

Thorin was pleased to use that fact against Azog, as he tossed the rock into the orc's chest, and stepped off the slab of ice, unbalancing it. Roaring, Azog fell into the water.

He couldn't help but breath a sigh of relief. But then Thorin noticed Azog's body floating in his direction under the ice. The relief proved to be premature when the damned orc stabbed him in the foot, then popped up out of the ice with only Orcrist between Azog's blade and his chest.

There was only one thing for him to do. Especially if he wanted to rid the world of Azog the Defiler once and for all. Letting the orc stab him in the chest caused the now gleeful orc to drop his guard long enough for Thorin to return the favor. This time he watched the orcs eyes closely as the beast breathed his last.

Somehow he staggered to his feet. A wave of weakness overcame him, which reminded Thorin that he was badly wounded, not the least of which was a gaping chest wound.

* * *

With a cough, Ashara felt the world come back with ringing in her ears and light too bright for her eyes on top of the near blackout pain from her broken legs.

Lightbringer was thankfully within reach and with no small difficulty she got it into the scabbard.

Looking around from her limited field of vision, she saw Orcrist's hilt sitting above Azog's chest and Bilbo talking to who she suspected was Thorin who was on his back.

 _That doesn't look good._

Turning herself onto her stomach, Ashara used her forearms to scoot herself across the ice, nearly sliding under the ice several times.

She managed to get to Bilbo and Thorin. "You got him him," she said to Thorin with a grin that likely looked more like a grimace.

Before the dwarf could say anything, Bilbo exclaimed, "Ashara you're alive!"

"For the moment. Don't look at my legs."

Of course Bilbo looked and had to turn to retch.

"I did... Warn you not... to look Bilbo," her thoughts were becoming sluggish.

"Ashara… I am sorry, Thorin whispered.

"It hurt but you weren't yourself. I'll deal with you later when we're both back on our feet," she replied.

Thorin closed his eyes, Ashara shouted, "Hey! You don't get to die. You don't have my permission!"

"And you can thwart the grasp of Mandos?" Thorin asked.

"There is one thing I can do..."

 _It's the only way,_ Ashara thought.

She could smell Soren coming. Rallying some strength she called out to her friend "Soren take cover with Bilbo."

"Why?"

She ignored Soren's query, grabbed Thorin's wrist and shouted **"Aulë hlarni: Anda cuita en Aran!"**

"ASHARA NO!"

* * *

 _Meanwhile in Valinor…_

 _Aulë smirked. It seemed he had chosen well for Thorin Oakenshield. Not that either Thorin or Ashara was aware of that fact just yet._

 _Yavanna turned to him and said, "If you want this plan of yours to work, you need to answer her plea and fast."_

 _He nodded and began funneling power into the she-elf._

 _"Those two will not be yours today Mandos my friend."_

* * *

Ashara could feel it power coursing through her veins, proving to her that what she'd done had worked. It very nearly had not.

She thought she heard familiar voices, as darkness covered her vision.

 _Erudan?_

* * *

 **A/N 2: Just *what* did Ashara do? Looking forward to seeing what you all think! SSD**

 **Black Speech Translations:**

 **Tak zakanchivayetsya liniya Durina- So ends the line of Durin**

 **Liniya Dyurina nakhoditsya pod moyey zashchitoy!- The line of Durin is under my protection!**

 **Sindarin Translations:**

 **selar nín- Sister mine.**

 **Rhaich- Curses.**

 **Aulë hlarni: Anda cuita en Aran!- Aulë hear me: Long Live the King!**


	13. Questions That Need Answering

**Chapter XII: Questions That. Need Answering**

 **A/N: This chapter was not the most cooperative. I wanted to have it out by Christmas, but that was not to be. Today is actually my 7th anniversary on the site. Bold is elvish, italics is Khuzdul. Hope you enjoy the chapter! SSD**

* * *

"She saved our king. Which means she is more than welcome here. I'm not foolish enough to throw aside a skilled healer elf or no. And if you're findin' time to complain about that, I'll find something for you all to do to occupy it, since you're not busy enough!" Dain roared at a group of Iron Hills dwarves.

As much as he did not like dwarves, Erudan could appreciate Dain sticking up for his sister. And this hadn't been the first time rude remarks had been made.

It had been five days since he'd arrived with his father, grandfather, and Aedric. He'd been on a trip to Lorien and Aedric had been one of the rangers escorting the group. His father had already been there for some time due to administrative business. After his **haru** dropped off his great grandmother, who had then instructed the four of them to meet up with Radagast before being escorted away to rest. They'd done that and picked Beorn up on the way there.

He'd been expecting to see a battle. While he had gotten that, Erudan had been shocked to his core by his sister's actions.

* * *

 _When she wakes up, she won't know what hit her!_ Elrond thought as he went about checking the wounded in Dale. He was splitting his time between Erebor and Dale.

Elrond was pleased that his only granddaughter would live. But what she had done to get herself into her current unconscious state, was the height of foolishness, especially for one like Ashara who only had basic knowledge of triage and magic rituals.

 _Where did she even *hear* about the Coi Nire? It is not standard reading!_

Her dying would wreck more havoc than she could have possibly realized.

The dwarf was lucky to merely have physical wounds. Whereas Ashara had wounds to her body and her **fëa.** Both of which would heal in time.

* * *

Nori was using every bit of his skill at moving about unseen. The Company needed information and suspected that Ashara's kin were not telling the entire truth about what went down on Ravenhill. Spying on elves was far from easy, even for one of his skill.

There were also those two rangers to contend with.

When he finally got into hearing range of Ashara's quarters, the conversation was clearly being held in one of the elven tongues, which he understood very little of. Most of what Nori knew was likely profanity that Ashara had thrown at Thorin during their captivity in Mirkwood.

"You're good at sneaking around for a dwarf. I almost didn't hear you. There's still a heaviness to your walk," a voice called out.

 _Ibnith_ Nori thought as he turned around to see the ranger who'd been next to Ashara during the parlay with Bard and Thranduil, leaning against the wall.

"What are you doing here?" the ranger asked.

He replied, "Rumors have been going around. Snatches of conversation from Mirkwood elves saying that Ashara risked her soul to save Thorin."

"Well they got that much right. Luckily for everyone involved what she did worked. You might want to clear out though. Erudan is on a warpath. About the only member of that Company of yours he doesn't want to try and give a good beating to is Bilbo." The ranger made a shooing motion.

Nori, while being slightly peeved that he had gotten caught, understood the desire to pummel anyone who could be perceived to harm his siblings.

Not that he'd want Dori to know that he felt that way.

* * *

Bilbo had learned more about Ashara in the past ten days than in the last six months of travel. Most of what her family was telling him (Bilbo was counting Soren and Aedric as family) were stories involving her weapons training when she was younger, including several she would likely have preferred to not see the light of day.

Especially the one involving her grandfather and the archery range. Regaling such stories helped them cope, Bilbo figured.

"Hey Soren, will you tell me what she said to Thorin when she tossed the dagger at him?" Bilbo asked, even though he was not quite sure he wanted to know.

"That is for her to tell you when she wakes up. If I told you, I would not have the fun of watching her try to avoid answering it with her father and grandfather around!"

* * *

There was more than one reason why Aedric spent much of his time outdoors. That was one of the reasons he loved his job as a Ranger. Helping the people of Dale clean things up was just a perk, given that he was claustrophobic. Which meant that being inside a mountain was... Unpleasant. Few knew of that fear. And Aedric preferred to keep it that way.

As he was walking back into the Mountain, he heard a _very_ familiar voice shouting in Sindarin and a not so familiar voice shouting in Khuzdul. Erudan had been not in the best of moods, given his sister's current state.

But that didn't mean he needed to insult their hosts.

Dragging Erudan away from Dwalin (whose brother was doing a similar thing) Aedric hissed **"Nethet innas na ruthui ir ne gelias en le eitha mellonzya!"**

Erudan argued back, **"I naugrim ar karina** **nesa ninya!"**

Aedric rubbed his eyes before replying, **"Sana né Azog, la mo Ashara tul si as!"**

Erudan growled, **"Ya sana casar aran lennas an, indun harya quettar le i casar!"** before storming off.

Turning back towards the two dwarves Aedric said, "I'm sure Erudan will apologize to you once Ashara wakes up, he's not like this usually.

"I can understand his anger. If my sibling were in her place I'd be acting out of sorts myself. Though I will reserve the right to bloody thrash him in the sparring ring," Dwalin replied.

"You'll have to beat Ashara to it!"

* * *

 _I'm not ready for this_ Fili thought as he sat by his uncle's beside.

Despite what Elrond saying that it was a certainty that his uncle would wake up, there had been some dwarrow who wanted to crown him. Which he had refused point blank to allow. The elf lord's skill as a healer was well known, so if he said Thorin was going to wake up, he was going to wake up.

He just wished his uncle would hurry it up.

Fili checked over his uncle again. Immediately after the battle, his uncle had been as pale as a ghost. Now, a little over two weeks later, he seemed to have regained some of his coloring.

"Please wake up **irak'adad**. Being in battle is easier than dealing with politicians," Fili pled.

"I'm sure... you are... doing fine," a voice rasped out.

Fili couldn't believe it. Before he said anything, he gave his uncle a bone cracking hug.

"Gently!"

After releasing Thorin, he ran to the door and ordered the guards, "Get Lord Elrond. My uncle is awake!"

* * *

The good news spread around the Mountain like wildfire: Oakenshield was awake. And likely already making a nuisance of himself with the healers.

 _I still think that there can never be a worse patient than Ashara,_ Elladan thought as caressed his still unconscious daughter's face.

The dwarf waking up was a good sign that his daughter would soon follow.

Some time later his father strode into the room, muttering imprecations against Thorin's ancestry in Sindarin, before sitting down.

"Difficult patient is he?" Elladan asked.

"He makes Ashara look like an easy patient," his father replied, before asking with narrowed eyes, "When was the last time you ate?"

Elladan had to stop and think. Elrond then ordered, "If you can't remember the last time you ate, then you need to eat. Go. I will stay with Ashara."

Knowing that arguing would not help, he got up and went to the kitchens where he mechanically ate some stew. Elladan wandered around, until he oddly found himself before a shrine to Aulë.

For a moment he prayed, _Aulë, you clearly have a plan in mind for my daughter. Please let her wake up soon._

* * *

After a week of being confined to his bed and later his rooms, Thorin was happy that Oin gave him the clear to walk around. Dwalin would be with him.

"Don't go to far. You need to build up your strength," the healer ordered.

Upon leaving the room, Thorin said, "I want to go check on Ashara."

"Not too surprised by that. Good thing her brother is in Dale today," Dwalin replied.

"Why?" Thorin asked.

"He's hostile towards the Company members except for Bilbo. The lad wants a go at you in particular. He sees you as nearly killing his sister," Dwalin answered.

In a way Thorin could not blame Erudan. However, he had not asked Ashara to do whatever she did to save him. And treating his kin poorly was not something he would tolerate.

On the subject of what Ashara did, "Dwalin, do you know what she did?"

"Her kin haven't exactly been the most forthcoming with information. Probably were waiting to see you awake. What little we do know is from snatches of rumor heard from Thranduil's folk, say that she would've sacrificed her soul to save you. We do know that much is true, according to one of the Rangers."

Thorin's blood ran cold. "Why would she do that?"

"No one knows

At this point they were getting close to where Ashara was located.

From behind them, Lord Elrond seemed to have come out of the walls and said, "I am not too surprised to see you here. It saves me the trouble of seeking you out. This really is not something that can be spoken where wrong sets of ears can hear. There are questions that I have concerning the events on Ravenhill, so let us go inside."

Once inside the sitting area and he was seated, Elrond asked, "Do you have any ideas why my granddaughter saved your life? By several accounts you had tried to kill her a few hours earlier and called her ancestry into question."

The elf was being quite blunt for on of his race, Thorin noted. Then again, family was family.

Answering as honestly as it could, "I have no idea as to what her reasoning was."

Elrond gave him a penetrating stare for some time before stating, "It seems as if the only person who can give the answers is currently unconscious."

"What did she do?" Thorin asked.

"Something very foolish, rarely attempted, and even more rarely successful," the elf lord replied.

 _The blasted elf was back to being vague_ , Thorin thought as he went back to his quarters.

* * *

 **A/N 2: Next chapter is the Yule chapter. I know, the timing is a bit off. Looking forward to seeing what you all think.**

 **Sindarin/Quenya**

 **fëa- soul**

 **Nethet innas na ruthui ir ne gelias en le eitha mellonzya!- Your sister will be angry when learns of you treating her friends with scorn!**

 **I naugrim ar karina** **nesa ninya!- Those dwarves nearly finished off my sister!**

 **Sana né Azog, la mo Ashara tul si as!- That was Azog, not anyone Ashara came here with!**

 **Ya sana casar aran lennas an, indun harya quettar le i casar!- When that dwarf king comes to, I will have words with him!**

 **Khuzdul:**

 **irak'adad-uncle.**


	14. When My Heart Finds Yule

**Chapter XIV: When My Heart Finds Yule...**

 **A/N: Apologies for the lack of updates, this is my first chance to get on a computer. This is posted from Arizona! This is a chapter that I have been waiting a long time to get to. Bold is either Sindarin or Quenya. Hope you enjoy the story. SSD**

* * *

It was the day before the Yuletide celebrations. Elladan however felt little joy with the season. It had been enjoyable watching the dwarves getting everything together. The people of Dale would also be joining in on the festivities.

He was not planning on joining in the celebration, instead opting to stay with his daughter. Ashara was still showing no signs of waking up in the short term future.

"Ashara please wake up. I- everyone needs you. And you have plenty of unfinished business from that stunt you pulled!"

Elladan began to fall into the open eyed sleep, before truly drifting off he heard a hoarse whisper, **"Atar, na i alyë?"**

Rising to his feet like a shot, he saw his daughter's gleaming gold eyes.

With shining eyes, Elladan whispered, " **melda anelya"** as he hugged his daughter.

* * *

Soren walked around Erebor with a bounce in his step. There was good reason to do so.

His best and (usually) most clever friend was awake. For the moment, the group that was in the know about Ashara were not going to be interrogating her just yet, as they were too happy.

Sooner or later, Elrond would be the one to do the interrogating. And Soren knew that Ashara would be ducking the questions as much as she could, giving non answers to the ones she could not avoid.

It had also been decided that Ashara's return to the world of the living would be kept quiet for the moment. The idea had been Elrond's. Soren suspected that he wanted to see the reaction of a certain dwarf.

Slipping into her room, he saw Ashara propped up on pillows. Erudan was updating her about what was going on in Dale.

"The survivors from Dale will also be at the festivities," the silver haired elf explained.

"I'm looking forward to seeing the looks on everyone's faces when the see me," Ashara replied with a smile.

"Anyone in particular," Soren could not help but ask with a crooked grin on his face.

"No. I know where you are going, and don't even think about it," she replied with narrowing eyes.

"What are you two talking about," Erudan was confused.

Before Soren could say a word Ashara growled, "Soren, if you continue this line of conversation, as soon as I am able, I will make you regret it in the sparring ring. I have learned some new dirty tricks from the Company that I am sure you'll not like!"

He winced. Even when she was in a good mood, Ashara was dangerous with a blade. When she was in a foul mood, there would be broken bones. And that was if you were lucky.

"I'll tell you later Erudan. After all it's in a brother's job description to annoy his sister!"

Even Ashara managed a chuckle at that. When Elladan walked in they were still chuckling. He had with him a pair of leather braces for his daughter's legs.

"If you still want to go to the Yule festivities tonight, now would be the time you start to get ready," he said.

* * *

The festivities were well underway. With everyone working hard, everything was running smoothly.

Thorin eyed the elves from Rivendell, who were sitting with the people of Dale.

Two of the group were not there. One was the Ranger who seemed to know Ashara all too well. The other was Ashara herself. He had not been able to visit much, mostly due to his own duties and the fact that her brother had made it abundantly clear he did not want the dwarves around.

He planned to visit her later.

His musings were interrupted by someone shouting, "Can someone open the door for me? I'm carrying a heavy load!" It was that Ranger.

"I'M NOT THAT HEAVY SOREN!"

Thorin felt more alive than he'd been feeling since he woke up.

Ashara was back in the world of the living.

Fili and Kili darted toward the door. Sure enough Soren entered carrying Ashara in his arms.

She looked pale, but her eyes were bright and dancing with mirth. The only other sign that she'd been wounded were the leather braces on her legs.

* * *

"So... Where do you want to go first?" Soren asked as he edged around people.

Ashara replied, "I'd like to sit with the dwarves and Bilbo."

 **"Sui iestdhir"** Soren replied as he noticed the _perfect_ seat. Ashara caught his gaze. Before she could say anything, he carefully set her down next to Thorin with a wink. Ashara sent him an acidic glare. She was not ready to discuss the events on Ravenhill. Thorin likely wasn't either.

Food was a good way to keep from talking. Both of them made use of it.

* * *

Bilbo felt ecstatic that Ashara was finally awake. Which should prove interesting given what he'd overheard her father and grandfather discussing. They didn't know that Ashara had taught him some Sindarin over the course of the Quest when she had the time. She'd been talking with Dwalin and Nori as well.

His favorite elf had eaten some soup with bread, and was moving to drink some ale when he asked, "So what _did_ you say to Thorin when you threw that dagger at him?"

Ashara nearly choked on her drink, Bilbo also heard a cackle from Soren who was nearby.

"You want to know what I said _now_?" she squeaked.

"Yes... Just what *did* you say," Bilbo recognized Elladan's voice. If what he suspected was right she would not tell him what she said with her father around.

Ashara rolled her eye, but her ears were carmine.

"Bilbo come here I'm not going to repeat this again."

* * *

Elladan watched as his daughter whispered in the hobbit's ear, whose face first went pale then the color of the setting sun. He'd only caught a few of the words himself, none of them were suitable for polite conversation.

The hobbit spluttered, "That's not physically possible!"

"Oh but it is! Especially when you have the right person with ya!" Soren called out with a wink.

"What do you need the right person for," Thorin asked.

Ashara stammered before Bilbo saved her bacon by saying "Ashara was just translating something for me that she said a while back."

His daughter nodded and he noticed that the pink had traveled from her ears but to her face and neck as well. Oakenshield looked like he didn't quite believe Bilbo, and gave Ashara an unreadable look.

There was something there, and judging by the pair's behavior, neither was ready to discuss the matter.

Before he could say anything, his daughter asked, "Can I sit with you, Erudan, and **haru**? It's been too long since I've spent time with you all."

With the dwarves moving around a bit, Soren was able to pick up Ashara again and began carrying her to where her family was sitting.

Once they were all settled again, Ashara turned towards her brother with narrowed eyes "So... what did you do to make my friends answer my questions concerning you without looking me in the eye?"

* * *

Thorin watched Ashara listen to her brother try to explain his behavior over the last month. For a moment she seemed sympathetic, before her expression changed to anger. She promptly started to ream her brother out in one of the elven tongues.

"I imagine you've been on the wrong end of Ashara's wrath before haven't you?" It was Aedric.

"That I have. Over the course of the Quest and a big altercation in Mirkwood.

"What happened in Mirkwood?"

"Thranduil sent her to the dungeons to discuss the conditions of our release. Ashara hadn't shared that Elrond was her grandfather. Thranduil had mentioned it to me earlier, but I thought he was just playing a trick on me. I... reacted badly. Don't know what she said, but judging by the reaction of the guard with her had, it was colorful."

"Ashara despite her supposed **helegrían** exterior has quite the vivid vocabulary," Aedric stated.

"Vivid is an understatement," Thorin replied when Ashara finished up with her brother. She was talking with her grandfather now, who had gotten her some more food. No ale though, despite the brief argument.

Once Elrond was occupied elsewhere with the people of Dale, Soren slipped her a mug of ale, at which she smiled her thanks.

 _What was the bond between those two?_

* * *

Elrond watched Thorin give Soren the evil eye. The ranger seemed unaware of the fact at present, as he'd just told a joke that had made Ashara, Erudan, and Aedric laugh so hard they were clutching their sides.

"I hope you know what you're doing this time, Gandalf. What you have in mind has the potential to blow up in your face," he said to the Istar.

"It will work. Trust me."

"I hope you do. And pray to Illuvatar that it works!" Elrond replied before returning to where his family was seated.

* * *

 **A/N 2: So... What did you all think? I had a lot of fun with this chapter. SSD**

 **Translations:**

 **Atar, na i alyë?- Father is that you?**

 **melda anelya- my sweet daughter**

 **Sui iestdhir- As you wish**

 **helegrían- ice queen**


End file.
